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...

214. Chapter 214: The Spirit Library 5

It was the third day since they had watched the Princess and her gladiator flying south on the back of her dragon. As they had yet to return, her guards were to set out to search for her in the Si Wong Desert and bring her back to Ba Sing Se safely, as promised.

Song had trusted such measures wouldn't be necessary, but she had noticed Rui Shi had been as good as resigned to take off after Azula from the very beginning of their friends' newest journey. It was no surprise that he'd be packing his bags in his room, loaded with supplies that he would need when attempting to track down their Princess in the depths of the desert… but Song shuddered to think of what could have delayed Azula and Sokka. If they had been attacked, or hurt somehow… was it possible that Rui Shi would be in danger too by chasing after them?

"Do you really think something could've happened to them?" Song asked, trying her best to keep her voice level. It wouldn't do to worry Rui Shi unnecessarily…

"Do I?" Rui Shi repeated, crooking an eyebrow as he fastened the buckles of his third bag "Well… it's not impossible. But if anything, I…"

"You…?" Song studied him carefully: the expression of his face wasn't quite that of concern… it was judgment, instead.

"I suspect those two may have grown tired of their impossible quest and decided to give everyone the slip for a few days" Rui Shi sighed "Hardly beyond them, is it?"

"W-well… yeah, it's not beyond them, but they wouldn't be so irresponsible when they know you'd promised you'd come after them, right?" Song asked, with an awkward grin. Rui Shi laughed.

"I hoped my warnings would serve that purpose, but I can't be sure they were so successful" Rui Shi acknowledged.

He rose to his full height, eyes set on the bags he'd assembled over the past hours. Song had brought him packs of food from the kitchens, a gesture Rui Shi had been grateful for… despite he wished it hadn't been necessary. If only those two hadn't been so foolish, taking off on some mad quest to no avail, maybe he'd be able to spend more time with Song…

Which he had done, constantly, for the better part of a month now. He blushed at the thought: they weren't usually together as often as this. He should be grateful for it, he knew… yet he was greedy, and foolish, and eager to spend even more time with her, no matter what. By her reluctance to see him off, Rui Shi could only hope Song felt the same way.

"Don't you think it's dangerous, though?" Song asked, toying with the tip of her braid "I mean, not the sandbenders, you know how dangerous they are better than I ever could, but… I mean, if those two are actually being as reckless as you think they are, isn't it going to be more trouble if you bring the other guards with you to find them? W-what if… if you all catch them doing something they shouldn't be doing?"

"Heh. I guess it'll teach them a lesson about how utterly foolish they've been for the past… four months? I don't even know how long it's been since their wild vacation anymore" Rui Shi laughed, shaking his head as he leaned down to strap the packs to his shoulders "Either way, a mild scare might get them back on their better behavior. I'd hope, at least"

"You don't think the others might…? W-well, it's not to say they're not trustworthy, it's just, well… those two never want anyone to know about them, right?"

"Great job they're doing of keeping their obvious attraction and secret relationship secret, huh?" Rui Shi said, and his sarcasm brought an inevitable laugh out of Song "All the guards suspect enough already, and these kinds of stunts only convince them further that something's going on. If they go public with it one day, Fei Li will probably throw a party. No one's as hung up on the idea of those two together as he is…"

"Oh, boy" Song chuckled, shaking her head. Rui Shi grinned as he approached her, all his bags firmly in place "Can't say they wouldn't have asked for it, in that case. Still, though… you're sure they're only delayed over something silly like that?"

"Most likely" Rui Shi said, nodding "I pity any fool who tries to get between them, or to hurt them. They'll either find themselves electrocuted or beheaded before they can make the first move"

"True" Song grinned "Well… good luck with your search. Do your best, and… w-well, if it's not too much to ask, be… be as quick as you can with it"

"And why would that be too much to ask?" Rui Shi smiled, raising a hand to stroke Song's cheek. She sighed, pressing her face fully into his gloved palm.

"Because I feel really selfish to wish that… that you wouldn't have to leave at all, seeing as it's for their sake" Song admitted, swallowing hard "I should just smile and encourage you to go, instead of… of wanting to go with you, or something silly like that. I mean, what help could I possibly be on a trip like that…?"

"You could be helpful…" Rui Shi said, biting his lip, but Song laughed and shook her head.

"I'll be a burden unless anyone gets hurt" she said "It's… it's better if I just shut up, don't worry about–…"

The bags were heavy on his shoulders, and they did little to help him keep his balance, but Rui Shi cared little for it as he took Song into his arms and kissed her heartily. The healer was startled by his method to silence her, but she closed her eyes and returned the kiss readily. Oh, they were starting to act like those two, she knew they were… this was silly. It wasn't like she could realistically be with Rui Shi at every waking moment, but her heart yearned for him desperately, and she wished she could succumb to her heart's mandate without resistance…

"I'll come back to you as soon as possible. I promise" Rui Shi said once they parted, pressing one more kiss to her brow. Song blushed but nodded, wrapping her arms around his armored body and pressing her face to his chest plate. Even with so many layers of armor and clothes between them, she craved whatever closeness she could attain with him this way.

"I know you will" she said, smiling "I love you, Rui Shi"

"And I love you, Song" Rui Shi grinned, squeezing her gently in his arms.

The words were uplifting, as well as the embrace and kisses they shared. The foreboding possibility of spending more time apart than they usually did wasn't quite so daunting for a moment… and it would have returned at full force as they walked together to the Palace's front entrance if the other guards hadn't been gathered there, gazing up at a figure in the sky.

"Look, look!" Fei Li exclaimed, pointing up at the clouds. At first, neither Song nor Rui Shi noticed anything out of the ordinary "It's right there, I tell you…!"

"I saw it too, he's not just being his usual crazy self…" Qiang confirmed, prompting the guards to laugh at their affronted leader just as Rui Shi and Song reached the group.

"What's going on?" Rui Shi asked "Is it…?"

"I think the Princess is back!" Fei Li declared, pouting "And these jerks make fun of me for it, but I really think I saw something!"

"Did you, now…?" Rui Shi said, squinting: there was a small black smudge in the horizon amidst the white clouds and blue skies, and he smiled upon glimpsing it was much larger than a bird… and coming their way "Huh. I guess we worried over nothing, after all"

"Is it really them?" Song asked, and Rui Shi smiled, pointing at the shape that loomed larger as it progressed towards the Palace.

"Seems so" he said: Song sighed in obvious relief, and Rui Shi's grin widened. Was she happier that their friends had returned safely, or that he wouldn't have to leave at all?

Up in the skies, the sight of Ba Sing Se's walls had already been a great relief, and that of the Palace was even more welcome. But it seemed only the Princess would rejoice in them: her dragon's flight had been far from spirited this time, despite he ever enjoyed taking to the skies with his rider. No doubt, his slow pace and his crummy mood were but consequences of the cactus juice he had ingested so eagerly last night… for, right behind Azula, sat the other casualty of the cactus juice, groaning as he rested against her back.

"Well, we're almost there. Just a little further, Xin, okay?" Azula encouraged the dragon, who whimpered and shuddered, as good as floating while allowing the wind to carry him off wherever it might "Xin…! Be careful!"

The dragon wasn't even in the mood to argue, despite he certainly thought, quite bitterly, that maybe Azula should be the one flying them to the city instead of him. The Princess rolled her eyes but kept from retorting: it was better to save all bickering for later, when her companions had recovered from their willful intoxication.

"We really… are almost there?" Sokka asked with a faint voice, his cheek pressed against Azula's armor, no matter how hot it was under the scorching sunlight "Wait… when did we even get back on Xin Long?"

"About five hours ago" Azula revealed, with a smirk "Nice to have you back, Sokka. Granted, your cactus juice personality wasn't quite so dislikable in the end, and I nearly laughed myself to tears when you forgot I'd married you, but…"

"I… did what?" Sokka repeated, as Azula chuckled.

"Oh, I'll take advantage of all your nonsense until we die, that's for sure" she announced. Sokka groaned in defeat behind her,

"I… I didn't say anything all that stupid, did I? D-did I?" Sokka said, pulling away only to squint at Azula in disbelief. Her proud grin spoke for itself "Oh, shit…"

Azula laughed to herself as the dragon finally loomed close enough to the Palace to land before the main entrance… and he did so rather clumsily this time, surprising the guards who were well-used to the dragon's skilled landings. The Princess had wrestled with the reins visibly, an unusual sight, and by the time the dragon finally landed he flopped flatly on the Palace grounds, his tongue lolling out in defeat.

"Yeah, I know, I overworked you when you were in awful conditions… but we did it!" Azula declared, patting Xin Long's horn gently before raising her head to regard the many guards gathered around her dragon, several of them carrying bags "Uh… and it's a good thing we arrived just now. You were about to set off to find us?"

"We were!" Fei Li confirmed, beaming "But you guys got back safely, so we can just put everything back to where it…"

"Wait, do you have any food in those packs?" Azula asked, with a dry grin: all guards gasped and searched their bags as quickly as possible for the food supplies they had been carrying around "Not for myself, it's for my dragon…"

"You gotta eat too, Azula…"

Sokka's voice sounded awkward, pained and weak. As much as Rui Shi had said everyone already suspected something was going on between the Princess and her gladiator, the former Captain dreaded everyone would confirm it now, as he flailed weakly with his head against her shoulder, his face unusually pale.

"Uh-huh" Azula said, glancing over her shoulder at her hungover lover: his behavior over the cactus juice had been far too strange and alarming to be comparable to the one he often exhibited while drunk… but the aftermath of it was remarkably similar all the same "And you either should get something to eat too, or go puke what you drank instead. Goofball of a gladiator…"

"N-not sure there's much left to throw up…" Sokka said, as Azula climbed off the saddle and helped him follow suit: Rui Shi stepped forward to help as well, as Song walked past the circle of guards to analyze Sokka's sorry state.

"It doesn't look like you're in your best conditions, but… welcome back, Princess, Sokka" Rui Shi said, slinging one of Sokka's arms over his shoulders. Song had wanted to welcome them enthusiastically as well, but she had been distracted by Sokka's weakened demeanor.

"Alright, what did you two get up to now?" Song asked, grimacing "Sokka looks…"

"Like hell?" Azula finished, smirking mischievously "Well, yes, I'm afraid so. But that's what happens to people who refuse to listen to cautionary tales about the consequences of drinking cactus juice…"

The entire group gasped, and Song smacked her brow with a hand as Sokka cringed, glowering rather clumsily at his smirking partner. Despite the situation probably didn't call for it, Rui Shi couldn't hold back a few chuckles.

"Y-you just had to tell 'em as soon as you could… hell, I need water. And to sleep this crap off… for a day or twenty. Ugh. Never… never drink cactus juice, Song"

"I wouldn't have! Everyone agrees it's a terrible idea!" Song exclaimed, looking at him in chagrin as the rest of the guards joined Rui Shi with laughter: it wasn't every day they saw Song's strict side "Oh, what on earth am I going to do with you… and you, Princess! Your hand! Did you take proper care of it or not?"

"Oh. Uh, I guess I could use a change of bandages, but I'm fine" Azula said, with a reassuring grin. Sokka snorted.

"Ha! She charged a lightning blast and fired it, Song! She was using her bending!" he exclaimed, pointing at Azula with a finger as the Princess gasped indignantly.

"Well, what's this? You've become a tattletale now?"

"Look who's talking! You didn't have to tell everyone I drank… cactus juice, ugh, I can't even shout, my head hurts…"

"Damn right it should…" Azula said, though a sensation of discomfort brought her to focus on someone other than Sokka moments later: was it her idea, or Song looked more exasperated than she ever had before, with her lips pursed and an eyebrow twitching that way…? "Uh, Song…?"

"Tell one not to bend, and she bends, the other just drinks any plant he finds… how on earth do you two manage to survive all the nonsense you land yourselves into? Because I sure have no idea!" she exclaimed, sighing and shaking her head as she stepped back into the Palace "Come on, I have to check on you both, make sure you're okay. No dawdling!"

"Well, fine, then…" Azula said, blinking blankly, slightly amused. She definitely wasn't used to being scolded, let alone by someone who had been easily intimidated by her not that long ago.

"A whole group of imperial firebenders, a gladiator with a sword that could cut through solid metal, a fearsome dragon, a Princess with unprecedented skills and more political power than anyone else in her station in the history of the Fire Nation…" Rui Shi recited, smirking "Yet the scariest member of our group is the healer"

"Somehow, that seems fitting" Azula smiled, shaking her head "Let's go, then. I'd rather not face the worst of her wrath. Though, before we go… can any of you send for a servant to get us food and water too? We've been out of supplies since last night, so…"

"Of course, Princess!" Taro exclaimed, nodding and bowing towards her "I'll go right away!"

"Don't run too fast or you'll trigger your coughing sprees" Haoren warned Taro, with his typical deadpan bluntness, but Taro waved a hand carelessly towards him before dashing off to fulfill his chosen duty.

Rui Shi helped Azula guide Sokka through the Palace until they found Song, waiting in a room with her medical equipment at the ready. She was already hard at work mixing substances in a small cup, and she handed the resulting mixture to Sokka as soon as he had taken his seat on an available chair.

"You, drink this. And you… let me see your wrist again" Song sighed, as Azula grinned dryly and offered her bandaged hand for the inspection.

"And in the meantime… care to explain whatever happened to you two in the desert?" Rui Shi asked "I assume that's where he drank the cactus juice, but the lightning seems to be another story…"

"We were chased by buzzard wasps" Sokka sighed.

"And then by sandbenders, though we only outran those, didn't fight them" Azula said, nodding "And then, well… by sheer chance we found a tower in the desert, hid inside it, and only when we were in it did we realize… it wasn't really a tower"

"What was it, then?" Song asked, after undoing all the bandages and undoing the splint: she took to touching the bones gently, keeping an eye on Azula to ensure she wouldn't flinch or show any signs of discomfort for it. Eventually, of course, she did "Huh. This hurts, doesn't it?"

"Y-yeah, well, maybe, but I didn't shoot the lightning with that hand… did I?" Azula mumbled, and Song rolled her eyes while shaking her head "Don't blame me, a lot happened after the buzzard wasps…"

"A mysterious tower happened, apparently?" Rui Shi said, crooking an eyebrow.

"A mysterious tower that was actually the crazy library with the big ole' creepy owl spirit and a bunch of little yellow foxes who helped him…" Sokka finished, bringing the cup to his lips.

Both Rui Shi and Song froze, staring at Sokka in utter confusion. That Azula hadn't contradicted him didn't seem to register in their minds just yet.

"Y-you're worse off than I thought, the cactus juice is still affecting you?" Song asked, eyes wide "When did you take it?"

"It's not the cactus juice! That happened way later!" Sokka pouted, as Azula laughed softly.

"He's talking nonsense, right? Isn't he?" Song glanced at Azula warily, only for the Princess to offer her a nonchalant shrug "W-wait, what?"

"Princess, you're not about to say that's true, are you?" Rui Shi said, smiling awkwardly.

"It might be all the better if you don't believe us" Azula conceded, tapping her chin with her free hand "The knowledge spirit did ask us to keep quiet, and while I see very little risk in telling you two, there's even less of a risk if you decide we're bonkers and that our story can't be true, so…"

"The… knowledge spirit? You mean, that owl Sokka mentioned asked you to keep quiet" Song repeated, blinking blankly.

"This is a really lousy cover story for a secret romantic getaway, Princess, just so you know…" Rui Shi said, and Azula laughed.

"Oh, if only… maybe the next one could be more romantic than this one?" Azula suggested, eyeing Sokka mischievously "Ah, but I guess we'll arrange that after giving Sokka and Xin Long a day or two to recover…"

"W-wait, the next one?" Rui Shi said, his previous relief dwindling quickly "What does that mean?"

"Why, it means our two weeks-stay in Ba Sing Se isn't over just yet, so we can take advantage of what's left of it to travel north now and search for dragons" Azula responded "Granted, that's the region where we always guessed they might be, but…"

"This, uh, owl told you to look there?" Rui Shi asked, skeptical.

"Uh, no, his library scrolls and books did. Sokka read the ones about dragons" Azula declared proudly, patting her secret husband's back gently as he whimpered: the remedy was affecting him already.

"M-my head hurts. W-what the hell did you give me, Song…?" he said, raising his head towards the healer.

"It may be painful now, but that little cocktail should purge your body's impurities once it's flowed through your body fully" Song declared, finally grinning "No more cactus juice delusions for you"

"Y-yeah, well, good. Truth be told, it was… it wasn't all that fun" Sokka mumbled.

"Well, at first I thought it wasn't fun too, but… you did become quite entertaining after a while" Azula smiled "Just, not so much when you decided to make a list of your favorite parts of my body"

Sokka flinched at that, looking at Azula awkwardly from the corner of his eyes. The Princess, naturally, was smirking.

"I… I did that, didn't I?"

"And you admitted you rather thrive in being teased and tormented whenever I say mean things to you. Apparently, it's wonderful because it makes me smile, so you play dumb and get angry just to make me laugh some more. So very romantic…"

"I…! N-no, that's not… oh, shit, what have I done?" Sokka groaned, as Azula laughed with abandon.

"I really had wanted to kill you when you drank the juice, but now with all this ammunition, I'm much happier about the whole thing" she declared, patting his hung head gently.

"Okay, and how did you end up drinking cactus juice at all if you were in some owl's library?" Song asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was on our way here. We took off last night, actually…" Sokka pouted "We were almost all out of water, Xin Long was hungry and thirsty and tired, and… w-well, I… figured it couldn't be such a bad idea…"

"He figured wrong, of course, but it was funny either way. Now I'll make sure he regrets it for as long as we may live" Azula grinned, prompting the other two to laugh while Sokka sighed hopelessly.

"Still… you say we'll take off again to find dragons?" Sokka asked "Will we just… go on occasional trips up to the mountains, or will we look for someplace to stay?"

"Not a lot of places in those mountains could host you properly, though" Rui Shi pointed out "The villages there aren't particularly well-off…"

"True…" Azula conceded, with a sigh "But… hmm. There's one place we could go to. Might be a good idea to send a bird beforehand, but still… they did say we were welcome to visit again whenever we wanted to go, didn't they?"

"Who?" Sokka asked, rubbing his brow with his fingertips.

"The Mechanist and his people"

Her words startled Sokka. The headache he was nursing seemed to go forgotten as he reasoned with that possibility.

"Wait… we'd go back to the Northern Air Temple?" Sokka asked, puzzled.

"Just if they can host us for a while, a few days at most" Azula shrugged "Admittedly, Xin Long and I had already searched nearby for dragons, but with your new leads we might be able to find something better this time"

"Eggs. Or even newborn dragons, hiding underground…" Sokka said "Heh, I kept telling him about the mating dances they do, figured it was better if he learned them just in case, but he's a stubborn dork and wouldn't listen"

"Dragon mating dances?" Song repeated, smiling weakly "That's what you read about in the owl's library?"

"Y-yeah, well… next time we go, you two should come along and see it all for yourselves" Sokka pouted.

"But that won't be happening until I'm Fire Lord and we can make up for all the stuff Zhao burned" Azula said, and Sokka nodded.

"Right, right…"

"What does the Admiral have to do with anything?" Rui Shi asked. Every new bit of this story was more confusing than the next.

Sokka and Azula shared a glance and a smile: as much as they had little intentions to offer this information to most people, Rui Shi and Song were trustworthy, more than anyone else. Even then, it didn't seem they were quite so likely to believe their words, to begin with: what was there to lose in being more thorough with their explanations?

By the time they were almost finished with the full story, a group of servants arrived at the room, carrying trays with food and drinks that Sokka lunged for as soon as they were set on a table for them. Azula thanked them graciously and dug in alongside Sokka, only realizing how truly famished they were upon taking the first bite of a sweet bun.

"So… a big creepy library, with a big creepy owl helped by fox spirits" Song recapped, grimacing "Sokka read about dragons, while Azula shared all Fire Nation information she could offer the owl, and then when the two of you left, the dragon got tired, you drank cactus juice and then you came back?"

"We got back on track a few hours before dawn, because I forced Xin to get moving… but yes, that's the general idea" Azula nodded "I didn't think it would be wise to stay on solid ground by sunrise, not with those sandbenders lurking about. Sokka started to snap out of his cactus juice high halfway through our trip, and fell asleep instead… whereas Xin Long was already somewhat recovered when we took off"

"And you don't remember most of what the Princess says you did?" Rui Shi asked Sokka, amused.

"W-well… no. I mean, I believe her, I must have been ridiculous enough to try to make a sandcastle and whatever, but… crap, I really forgot it all" Sokka said, eyes wide.

"Must have been some really strong cactus" Song smiled.

"And you'll take off on that trip soon, then?" Rui Shi asked "Should we all go along, or…?"

"I doubt there's much need for that" Azula said, waving a hand dismissively "This time we'll go someplace safer than the desert, so you'll have even less cause for concern there. We'll try to return at least a day or two before our time in Ba Sing Se is set to end"

"Huh… and who will take care of your wrist while you're there?" Song asked, crooking an eyebrow. Azula grimaced but sighed.

"I'll be more careful…"

"Not sure I can believe that"

"Who could I possibly have to fight in the Northern Air Temple, anyhow?" Azula asked, rolling her eyes.

"You said you wouldn't have to pick any fights after the Race and that you'd recover fine because of that" Song reminded her, with a dry grin. Azula's stomach sank: she had said that, hadn't she? "Seems like I do have reason to worry, huh?"

Azula sighed in defeat, but Song and Rui Shi smiled, nonetheless. The other two continued to eat ravenously, oblivious to how pleased their friends were by the outcome of their journey: their safe return meant they'd be free to be together with little interruptions, and that was the best way to bolster their spirits.

Once their meal was finished, the Princess convinced Sokka to take a proper nap and sleep off whatever was left of the cactus juice's effects. He'd do best to rest as much as he could, for once Xin Long had replenished his energies, they'd be off to another long trip. Azula was tired too, and she would have gladly taken a nap of her own – preferably, with Sokka's arms around her, an impossible wish in Ba Sing Se's Palace –, but she had to report her safe return and her upcoming venture to her host as soon as possible, and she did as much after catching him in the middle of a snack break from his duties.

"Then… you wish to travel north?" Tiang asked Azula, as they paced the halls of the Palace together "You and your gladiator again, I presume?"

"Well, if he's in any condition to travel again by tomorrow, or the next day" Azula smirked "He's slightly affected by the cactus juice he drank while we were in the desert, so…"

"Oh, my. That's not good for anyone" Tiang grimaced "Whenever the army traveled anywhere near the desert, there were always soldiers who told stories about people who had drunk cactus juice and woken up naked, after taking up a job as, uh, entertainers in the Misty Palms Oasis or so. All those stories ended like that…"

"Well, I won't deny my gladiator was quite entertaining while under that weird substance's influence" Azula laughed "Just, not in that sense"

"Oh, I'm sure" Tiang smiled awkwardly: it wouldn't do to reveal his latest suspicions now, would it? Better to keep his mouth shut… "The Mechanist should be much safer than that cactus juice experience, though. I've never met the man personally, but his people have visited the city on occasion for the past years. The first time their hot-air balloon was sighted in the distance, the guards on the walls nearly took it down on impulse… it was fortunate they had a commander with enough sense not to attack without thinking it through"

"Huh, sounds like a dangerous situation. Good thing nothing bad came from it" Azula smiled.

"They've been quite forthcoming with their useful inventions and helpful tools, though" Tiang grinned "They offer their advancements to us, we buy them, and they use the money to buy whatever supplies their colony needs. It's a nice trade, I'd hope"

"And one they may have needed, if their living conditions aren't much different these days from how they were the last time I visited them" Azula said "Not to say it's impossible to survive there, far from it, but it's not exactly comfortable… I was assigned a bedchamber in a freezing tower, to name one thing"

"Oh, that must have been distressing" Tiang grimaced "Truthfully, living in Ba Sing Se has proven enlightening regarding the cycle of the seasons. I never imagined winter could be so unpleasant when I had only been a young man in the Fire Nation…"

"No doubt" Azula smiled "I've barely experienced much winter myself, I admit. Technically, we're already starting spring… anyways, I probably ought to check on my dragon now. We'll be leaving once he's ready, so…"

"Very well. The best of luck to-…"

"Governor! Governor, sir…! Oh, the Princess is here too!"

The voice of the servant reached them as they halted in one of the Palace's open corridors. The servant in question was a stout, old man that held a thick scroll in his hands. The lack of the mandatory army ribbons indicated this wasn't an official message, so both Azula and Tiang relaxed immediately.

"This message just arrived, from Ba Sing Se University" said the man, beaming "Though it is meant for the Princess, I believe!"

"Ah… huh. I didn't think I'd hear back from them just yet" Azula said, taking the scroll as the man offered it "I do hope it's not Professor Zei…"

"I suppose he will want to know if you found the library after all" Tiang asked, with a skeptical smile. Azula grinned too, knowingly, hoping the gesture would appear fully sarcastic: it was one thing to tell Rui Shi and Song what they'd found, and a whole different one to tell Tiang, the biggest economic supporter of Ba Sing Se University. If he knew the place was real, he'd send Zei on a massive expedition… and Azula had no doubt Wan Shi Tong wouldn't appreciate that one bit.

"Tough luck" she said, simply. Not a lie… and not an affirmation, either "Though… huh. It's not Zei. It's actually…"

Her eyes raked the letter's contents at haste, surprise and confusion blending until she was left to wonder what on earth to make of this information. Granted, she had asked the professors to contact them if they learned anything about the subjects they'd asked them to investigate… but she had assumed neither of them would find anything promising. This was a strange surprise… and after Sokka's firm decision in the Library, Azula wasn't quite sure if it was a welcome one.

"Well, this could be helpful, I… I hope" Azula said, with a dry grin, as she nodded approvingly at the servant. He jumped, an excited smile breaking across his face as he bowed respectfully towards the Princess "Thank you for bringing this to my attention"

"It was my honor, Princess!"

"Anyways, I'll go check on my dragon, as I was saying" Azula smiled at Tiang, who bowed his head respectfully.

"Go ahead. I hope you'll have a pleasant journey" he said "And… well, I hope the next time you visit the city you will be able to relax fully. It seems you're terribly busy these days…"

"I suppose I am" Azula conceded, shrugging "But it's been quite fulfilling all the same. Still… I hope you're right. A few days off wouldn't hurt, for sure. I'll see you later, at dinner, I take it?"

"Of course" Tiang said, bowing his head, and Azula bowed as well before stepping away from the Governor, filing through the Palace hallways towards the exit that would bring her close to her dragon's temporary lodgings.

Azula found Xin Long nibbling on a charred bone lazily, yet again: he had eaten plenty by now, after devouring the supplies the guards had given him only for a group of servants to bring him raw meat moments afterwards. Going by the lazy smile on his face, he was absolutely delighted by the royal treatment he had received thus far.

"Enjoying yourself, I see?" Azula asked, and Xin Long offered her a proud, toothy grin before digging into the next large slab of meat "Well, do replenish your energies as best as you can. As soon as you're fit for it, we're off to the Northern Air Temple"

Her words puzzled the dragon: he raised his head again, his jaws slightly stained by the blood of his latest prey, but he didn't appear intimidating in the least when he tilted his head sideways, eyeing Azula questioningly.

"Why? Well, there's a few reasons, but the main one is that the likeliest locations for dragons are within that massive mountain range" Azula explained, stepping closer to Xin Long: he twitched happily at her words, his tail wagging as a dog's might, out of sheer excitement. Azula laughed softly "Now, now, no need to be so childishly pleased about it. It's good news, I'm sure, but still…"

Oh, but it was great news! Finally, after all this time, it felt like they'd make genuine progress. It was difficult to say if they'd find anything, but Xin Long had never been as confident about it as he was now. The possibility of finding new dragons, or even eggs… it was delightful like nothing he'd ever known.

Azula nodded at Xin Long's reasoning, stretching a hand to pat his brow gently. Xin Long almost seemed to purr as he pressed against her, eyes closed happily.

"I didn't mean to make you wait as long as you've had to" she admitted "I know I should have devoted far more attention to your quest than I did, so…"

Xin Long shook his head promptly, silencing her with the gesture, but prompting her to gasp when he encircled her body with his own, squeezing her gently as he forced her to sit with him, whether she liked it or not. Azula smiled, uncertain at first, but her fingers slid between Xin Long's soft hair before long.

"Alright, alright… you think I have a life to deal with, a lot of responsibilities, and I suppose it's true" Azula conceded "Still… you've been a good, loyal companion from the moment I found you. I should have taken this quest far more seriously all along and investigated proper leads…"

Well, he didn't hold that against her, not truly. If their situations were reversed, and their world was fully populated by dragons, and she were the only human around, he would likely have too much dragon-business to deal with, just as she had human-business. Azula snorted at his attempt to see things from her point of view, as Xin Long grinned at her excitedly: what mattered was that she would do something now, of course. If they didn't give up, chances were they'd find new dragons soon… and then he wouldn't be alone anymore.

Her heart clenched at those thoughts, no matter how innocently Xin Long poised them. He chuckled happily as her fingers tightened around his hair, and she offered him a sad smile.

"That's right. You'll find your fellow dragons, Xin, for sure" she said, pressing her brow to his gently.

She was startled again when she felt the dragon's moist tongue against her cheek, rising quickly and mischievously as he licked her playfully. Azula pulled away to look at her dragon accusingly, but Xin Long's excitement broke her before she could even attempt to play the stern rider.

"And who says you're allowed to do that?" she asked regardless, only for Xin Long to lunge forward again, attacking with his serpentine tongue as Azula struggled to fight him off, laughing despite herself "Xin! Behave yourself! You're not a dog, are you? Xin!"

He was so cheerful now, so hopeful and elated by their progress… and it only filled her with guilt as he settled down, taking a deserved, leisurely nap on her lap, whiskers swaying in midair of their own accord. Azula stroked his hair, holding him closely as he rested, her back against his long body. The guilt, she knew, came from two sources: the first was over how she had neglected this quest for as long as she had. If there were any dragons left in the world, it was impossible to say whether they'd be in good or bad conditions, safe or in danger. The sooner they had found them, the better, she knew… but she hadn't done that. She had busied herself with her own matters, losing sight of what her partner was most desperate for. It was an unforgivable slight… one she hoped to make amends for in the next week.

The other source of guilt probably was even worse than the first one: she feared what would happen if they were successful. No, she didn't believe the dragons would attack Xin Long, she didn't expect them to be deadly or dangerous in any sense… but the same fears that had gripped her heart in Whaletail Island resurged now. Once again, she bottled them up: how selfish could she be, hoping that Xin Long would take pity on her and stay with her by the time his greatest dream came true? It was folly… it was something she ought to be above of. No, not for the reasons her father believed – feelings, she knew, were far worse if denied or feared rather than embraced: it was because Xin Long deserved better than this from the woman who had become his rider.

Just as with Sokka, she felt vertigo tugging at her entrails at the very thought of having to say goodbye. She would do it, if need be… but it seemed so sudden, too soon, and she wasn't sure she could ever be ready for it. Somehow, she had taken for granted she would have her trusted, powerful dragon by her side at all times. Only now did she realize how that certainty had affected her, how it had changed her… only now, when she first realized she might lose it, to a fault. They would be bonded forever, that much was inevitable… but could that be any consolation if he decided to live a life away from her?

She sighed and shook her head. She was being foolish, and she'd do best to stop. Not only was there no guarantee that this would work… she had no right to interfere, no right to make demands: she would help Xin Long, the same way she had been willing to help Sokka, come what may. Both her partners deserved nothing less.

In the meantime, however, she would be foolish not to enjoy every moment she could spend with the feisty dragon. She smiled, stroking his hair gently, basking in his company. It was hard to say what the future might hold… but cherishing the present was the better way to prepare for anything that loomed ahead, she hoped. If only she'd realized this sooner, if only she'd been less self-absorbed, perhaps she would be more prepared to let him go, if it came to that. But as things stood…

She was still stroking her dragon's mane kindly when a servant dropped by to alert her that dinner would be served. Azula thanked him before lifting Xin Long's head gently, hoping not to wake her slumbering partner with her movements. Perhaps he would wake anyways, to catch her as she pressed a soft kiss to the top of his scaly head… but she did it, and his eyes didn't open. Azula allowed herself a sad smile before stepping away from her dragon, ever glancing back at his sleeping figure, rising and falling with every breath he drew.

Azula was absentminded through dinner: Sokka wasn't there, Azula assumed he might still rest in his room, and she only had to answer a few questions about her new travel plans as she ate a stew that hadn't been seasoned enough to her liking, the norm in most meals she ate in the Earth Kingdom, no matter how grand their quality might be.

All preparations for the journey could be finished quickly enough over the next day, but there was one thing Azula had to share with Sokka before they took off. The letter the servant had delivered to her remained safely tucked in her belt still, and she intended to show it to Sokka once she finished her dinner. Secretly thrilled to have an excuse to enter his room, she pushed the door open… to find an empty chamber.

"Where…?" she said, blinking blankly before glancing about herself. Had he gone to dinner just when she had left?

Upon scrambling back to the dining hall, she didn't find him anywhere nearby either. She gazed about herself with uncertainty: was he visiting Xin Long? Where on earth could he have run off to suddenly, when he should be sleeping off his hangover, if it could be called that…?

"Something wrong?" Song's voice reached Azula just as she started to ponder actual places within the palace where she could search for the gladiator.

"I have something I ought to talk about with Sokka, but he's nowhere around" Azula replied, turning to face the healer, who had only just finished her own meal "I checked his room and it was empty, so I figured he would have rushed for dinner, but he's not here either…"

"Huh. Well, that's strange" Song said, raising an eyebrow "Is there anything else he would be likely to do? Maybe taking a bath?"

"Well, he probably ought to do that at some point. As should I" Azula conceded, with a grimace. She had disregarded cleaning up thoroughly after their experiences in the desert, after all…

"Could be that's it" Song suggested "Though… well, y-you know, don't, uh…"

"Follow him there, if that's where he might be?" Azula finished, with a dry grin. Song swallowed hard "Despite your suspicions, I actually am at my best behavior whenever we come to Ba Sing Se"

"Well… good" Song smiled, though her eyebrow twitched "… Is he?"

"Usually. Sometimes. Whenever he doesn't decide to write haikus about me at random only to leave them lying about carelessly" Azula laughed, shaking her head "At any rate, I'll just knock on the bathroom door to see if that's the case. Thanks for the idea"

"No problem. Be careful…" Song whispered, grimacing as the Princess started on her way to the bathrooms, raising a hand in acknowledgement of her friend's warning.

The communal baths in Ba Sing Se's Palace were below ground: Azula had a private bathroom of her own in her assigned room, and she had no doubt every high-profile individual hosted in the Palace had a bathroom of their own as well. Sokka didn't quite have the same luxury – though she had no doubts he would have enjoyed sharing her private bathroom with her, if only it had been possible. Hence, the gladiator would likely be in the basement's communal baths, if he was cleaning up at all…

After having visited the Palace several times, Azula had grown acquainted with its layout, but not enough to find the right staircase that would lead to the bathrooms on the first attempt. Instead, she found another staircase… a familiar one, right past a stone archway.

Voices filtered from the archway, bouncing and echoing against what might just be the oldest area of the Palace: the prison cells. Azula breathed deeply, recognizing one of those voices immediately as Sokka's. She should've considered he might be there, instead of cleaning up or eating.

She clenched her fists as she walked down the stairs, curious about whatever Sokka was talking about, but most of all, hoping that, if he noticed her presence, he might put an end to his conversation and choose to spare her from the awkwardness of facing the former Earth Kingdom monarch. Still, knowing her gladiator as well as she did, the likelihood of that was slim, if not non-existent, altogether…

"… So, things are moving along. Maybe not as fast as you hoped, but those who didn't simply settle into a comfortable life under Fire Nation rule, those who still are loyal to you, and to your nation, finally will be treated better. Doesn't that sound a little promising, at least?"

"I… I guess it does" a voice answered Sokka: the quality of Kuei's voice suggested it had once been as smooth as the marble in his Palace's halls, but now it was choked, weak, broken. Azula frowned, though: his tone implied he might not truly agree with Sokka's words "But…"

"But?" and the typical exasperation in her lover's voice brought a smile to Azula's face.

"It's wrong anyways, I suppose. Not for the reasons you might think, no…" Kuei sighed "It's not that I don't want them treated better, of course I do. But… I haven't helped them, have I? I've… I've done nothing for my own people. And if they owe any relief in their lives to the Fire Nation, won't it mean they… they will lose even more of the hope they had once placed on me? On the Earth Kingdom?"

Silence followed those words. Azula clenched her fists, dreading Sokka might go on a rampage of the sorts he often had waged against her, in the past. Reasoning with this king didn't appear to be an easy task, and that Sokka was trying to do it for a second time didn't seem fated for a better outcome than the last time he'd done it.

"What do you want, then?" Sokka finally said, his voice cold "You won't leave your cell, because you think everyone beyond these walls is an enemy or a traitor. You're powerless to help slaves, the only ones you're willing to acknowledge as non-traitors, but when someone else helps them, you're displeased because it's not you who's doing it? It sounds…"

"I'm not displeased that they're being helped, don't get me wrong, but…"

"Was this the kind of king you were? The kind of king you wanted to be?" Sokka asked, cutting across Kuei without a care. The man gasped, indignant "Were you merely out for the glory, for the hero-worship, to be told you were extraordinary just because you were born to the richest man in your land? Is that it?"

"Well, no! But it's not that simple…!"

"I know how complicated it is" Sokka growled "I've seen it, up close, for years now. I know being at the center of a nation, being fated to rule it one day, is a burden few can understand without experiencing it. And it's starting to sound like you don't understand it either, despite you've been Earth King for who knows how long…"

"I beg your pardon? I ruled Ba Sing Se for years, and yes, perhaps Long Feng kept me in the dark about most matters, but that doesn't mean I don't understand crucial things that any king ought to understand!"

"That so?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows "Then… who do you rule for? What do you rule for? What makes you worthy of sitting on a throne?"

"You… you don't get to ask such questions of me! As things stand, I don't rule at all, to begin with!"

"Hmm. And I used to think that wasn't a good thing" Sokka said, and rustling sounds accompanied him as he stood up "I'm not so sure anymore"

"Is that so? You'd rather see the Fire Nation take over everything, then? The last time we spoke you talked of resisting, fighting back, but now…!"

"What we're doing for slaves is already a way to fight back" Sokka hissed, shaking his head "We may be playing by the rules, but in doing so we're saving lives that would've been lost otherwise! But you just can't seem to…"

His new rant was interrupted when he dared glance towards the stairs: his eyes met hers, even if she was shrouded in the darkness of the staircase's shadows. Azula swallowed hard, a hand on the wall as she wondered if she ought to encourage Sokka to leave… or if she ought to give him a hand in reasoning with Kuei, if possible. By the glow of his eyes, it was clear which possibility he preferred.

"It's barely rebelling if you don't defy the Fire Lord…" Kuei growled, uninterested in the reason why Sokka had fallen silent "He'd never approve of anything that wasn't advantageous for him, so…"

"Yeah, you'd think" Sokka smiled, his eyes still set on Azula "Might be better if you hear it from the actual rebel, if that's the case"

Azula gritted her teeth, shaking her head promptly, but Sokka disregarded her rejection and stepped towards her, taking her hand in his as he offered her a reassuring grin.

"Sokka…" she managed, but she couldn't say another word before Sokka tugged her into the cellblock, no matter how she might resist against his bullheaded idea "Oh, for crying out loud…!"

"There we are! Seems fitting for two royals to meet, face to face" Sokka declared, beaming proudly as he released Azula's hand once they were standing before Kuei "King Kuei… meet Crown Princess Azula"

Kuei was a dark-skinned man with a slightly ruffled appearance that would only seem unkempt in the eyes of pampered nobles. His clothes were of the highest quality, no matter how carelessly he wore them, and his green eyes were small but wide as he glared at her in perplexed confusion. The first meeting between the heirs of the two most powerful monarchies in the world surely could have been held in better circumstances… but as things stood, this was all they could afford.

"Y-you…" Kuei said, and it seemed all trace of his previous rant was gone over sheer shock.

Azula breathed deeply, knowing she shouldn't botch this up now. She didn't want to make an unnecessary enemy, no matter how powerless he was… and as much as she wanted to throttle him right now for dragging her into this, she didn't want to disappoint Sokka either. And so, she bowed her head with a curt reverence, holding it long enough that Kuei would be obligated to see it as a respectful gesture.

"Do excuse my rudeness, I overheard your conversation… truthfully, I was only looking for a certain gladiator who has been eluding me over the past hours" Azula grumbled, shooting a glare in Sokka's direction only for him to grin guiltily "And while it didn't cross my mind all along, it made sense that he'd be here. It seems you refuse to accept any gesture by the Fire Nation as kindness… am I wrong?"

"Of course you're not" Kuei replied, though his behavior had shifted, Sokka could tell: surely, just like it had been for him in his youth, the idea of the Fire Nation's Royal Family had appeared distant, vague, and it was easier to imagine cruel monsters in place of the actual human beings that comprised it… until reality proved otherwise "So if you're here to offer any further, I… I must ask you to refrain from doing so. Your gladiator insists that you've helped people, well, that may be a show of goodwill, but it is one I'm uninterested in"

"I see. Well, so be it" Azula said, with a dry grin. Sokka's enthusiasm waned upon that, and Azula shrugged in his direction "What?"

"W-well… tell him something useful! You can't just settle for letting him think you're, well…!"

"What, a monster?" Azula repeated, with a dry grin. Sokka tensed up, eyeing her warily: that was one word he refused to use to describe her, no matter how sarcastic she might be while using it right now "Didn't I tell you ages ago, Sokka, that it didn't matter to me what other people thought as long as you knew the truth?"

"You… well, you did, but it does matter now! He's being a stubborn jerk and you can reason with him!"

"Why, I honestly doubt I can" Azula shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest "Try as though I might, he won't budge because he's a royal, and that means he's going to be as stubborn as he pleases, far more stubborn than you could ever dream to be. See? That's the true reason why I refuse to believe you were royalty in the South Pole…"

"Oh, so I'm not as stubborn as royals, then?" Sokka asked, with a dangerous grin. Azula returned it most earnestly "Well, you do realize you're insulting yourself by saying that, don't you?"

"On the contrary, I take great pride in it! It's a remarkable compliment to be a stubborn…!"

"Is this a joke?"

Both Azula and Sokka fell silent at Kuei's question. The two turned their heads slowly towards the king, who blinked blankly at their foolish argument.

"This isn't… this can't be the Crown Princess" Kuei said, with an awkward smile "I mean… the hairpiece and armor seem regal enough, but perhaps it's a prank of some sort. An ill-advised one, and in poor taste, I must say, Sokka, but…"

"Ah, I'm a prank, then?" Azula said, raising her eyebrows "Pray tell, do you know anything about me?"

"You're… the Fire Lord's daughter, or impersonating her, at any rate. If you are her, then Sokka believes you're the greatest human being to exist" Kuei said, with a shrug. Azula tried not to blush as she shot Sokka a disbelieving glare. He didn't even bother taking back the words, standing by them proudly "But I… I can't fathom a Princess of the Fire Nation would speak this way with a mere slave"

"Heh, see? Things aren't quite as simple as you thought, right?" Sokka grinned.

"They never are, where you're involved" Azula smirked at Sokka before turning to Kuei again "I take it, then, that you've never heard that my fire is blue?"

The deposed king yelped when Azula extended her hand: blue flames danced over her open palm, and Azula closed her fist again merely moments later, raising a defiant eyebrow.

"That's actually stronger evidence of my identity than my outfit" Azula said, with a dry grin "I'm the only bender who has been able to produce blue fire, if historical records are to be taken seriously. Ask any servants eventually, if you truly want to confirm it, or anyone who comes visit you, makes no matter, for they'll all confirm it for sure. Either way, Sokka, I had something to talk about and I don't think this will get us anywhere, so…"

"Won't it?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing at Kuei from the corners of his eyes "Well, King Kuei, apparently Azula thinks you're stubborn and impossible to reason with because that's what all royals are like, huh? But you know, you're the first royal she meets outside her family… which means that her idea of what royals act like is what Fire Nation royals act like! Therefore… if you're as stubborn as them, does it mean she's right? Does it mean Fire Nation concepts of the world, of royalty, are accurate…?"

"What…?! Don't try to manipulate me like this!" Kuei nearly squeaked now, though Sokka smirked mischievously as Azula rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Why do you want him to change his mind about me, and the Fire Nation, so badly?" Azula asked, startling Sokka out of his wicked smirking "Not to be a downer here, but… it doesn't make much of a difference what he thinks. He may resent us, he may think we're thieves, monsters, tyrants… and he might even be right about some of it. But, for one thing, he's powerless in that cell and probably will be forever, which means his beliefs and actions won't be likely to shape the world. For another, ours already are shaping the world into a much better place… so, why do we need his support, exactly?"

"Because… well, he is supposed to be the rightful ruler of the Earth Kingdom" Sokka said, biting his lip "I'd think that should mean something to you, right?"

"Uh… well, he certainly does appear regal, to some degree" Azula conceded, eyeing the fallen king again "More than you do, anyhow…"

"Hey!"

"But the truth is, if I'd allowed destiny to determine my path in life, I would've never found you" Azula said, and Sokka's eyes widened "If I'd believed some higher power, or some tradition, could determine the course my life would take, I would have become nothing but a broodmare for whatever husband my father imposed on me, long before we could have even met. I took a stand against every alleged destiny that was imposed on me, all be it so I could determine my own course, so I could seize all the opportunities I could, at first for my selfish reasons, eventually for the sake of those I cared for, my nation, and ultimately the world. So, that he's the rightful ruler, by law and tradition, is hardly a reason for him to retake his throne, if you ask me. For that matter, my uncle ought to be Fire Lord now, and if his son had lived, he would be Crown Prince instead of me. And I… would amount to very little, I suppose"

"Yeah, right" Sokka pouted, and Azula smiled "You would've achieved amazing things anyhow, no matter if you weren't in the main branch of your… uh, you have something to say now?"

Kuei had stood up, and he eyed them both with confusion. Up until now, he had been wary… now, however, he seemed curious.

"You… you believe destiny isn't set in stone?" he asked "You warped yours, to come all this way?"

"You don't possibly believe the Fire Nation was destined to take everything we did, do you?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow. Kuei huffed and shook his head.

"Never"

"And yet we did" Azula finished, at which Kuei scowled "It's not something anyone should be taking pride on, and I certainly don't anymore… but it's something for you to ponder, if anything. Letting others dictate what your destiny is or what it should be, assuming your current circumstances are the only ones you could possibly be stuck in… it seems rather depressing to live your life that way, doesn't it? And why do so instead of choosing your own path and fate? Perhaps, in the end, all my grand deeds will blow up in my face and everything I worked for will be useless… maybe the very slaves I'm trying to help will turn against me, who knows?"

"Hey, now! I'd stop them if they tried!" Sokka pouted, his voice cracking as Azula laughed.

"Whether they did or not, what matters is I made the choice to help them myself, regardless of its consequences" she said "Destiny is far from something set in stone, and it's a fool's errand to allow your actions to be guided by nothing but some preconceived notion of destiny. I highly doubt you were destined to rot away in this jail cell for the rest of your life, right?"

"But… I was born to be king" Kuei repeated, in surprise.

"And you were king, for many years as far as I know" Azula said, shrugging "My cousin was born to be Fire Lord: he died in the war. The least likely heir is now Crown Princess. So much for being destined to rule, huh?"

"So… what, I should accept that I won't be king anymore?" Kuei asked, spitefully "Well, that… that seems more than unfair. It's absurd. Would you give up your role if someone merely told you to?"

"Oh, certainly not" Azula conceded "But if someone captured me, locked me up and took over my nation, I probably would have escaped three days into captivity. Then I would have gathered forces to strike back, surely, though if it were my city and Palace, I'd know all its secrets, and I would have a chance to fight unseen against the enem-…"

"Uh, Azula?" Sokka smiled, patting her shoulder "Nice for you to showcase some of your strategic mind, but I don't think you're going to be in his shoes anytime soon"

"Might as well prepare for it. You never know" she declared, and Sokka chuckled.

Kuei was silent now, eyeing them begrudgingly. Azula sighed, more than ready to take off right now. She still had to tell Sokka about the letter, after all.

"Well, then, if that's all, I think my gladiator and I ought to take off now. Nice meeting you…" Azula said, smiling dryly and bowing curtly at Kuei… who, as it happened, wasn't as ready to let them go as they had thought. At least, not yet:

"I disagree with you both. In… about every possible regard" Kuei said, and Sokka huffed with exasperation while Azula smiled sympathetically at her secret husband "But… well, maybe I… maybe I'm wrong to do so"

"Oh?" Sokka sprung up again to his full height, smiling weakly at first at Kuei's sudden admission "You're not so sure of yourself anymore?"

"Not for the reasons you'd think, I suppose" Kuei mumbled "It's… because of how you act, and how you talk to each other. You're… you're not what I was expecting"

"Yeah, well, nobody ever gives me any credit when I say Azula is amazing…" Sokka grumbled, rolling his eyes "I will admit, it's always fun when she proves people wrong about her, which happens just about all the time, but at this point I just wish we'd meet someone a little more willing to believe my stories…"

"Might be you're telling them wrong" Azula said, with a vicious grin. Sokka yelped "You know, poor storytellers aren't particularly good at convincing people of anything…"

"Hey now! You've complimented my storytelling before…!"

"Just the one time, and it wasn't even a story you made up yourself, so that's no argument in your favor" Azula laughed, and Sokka huffed, shaking his head.

The Princess glanced at Kuei again, finding him still perplexed. Perhaps she wasn't what he was expecting… but perhaps he had been referring to the two of them, rather than to Azula alone: their bond was always confusing, most of all to those who had no idea what to expect from it. If anything, it wouldn't surprise Azula if Kuei envied her, to a fault. He had been a king in a gilded cage, with few true friends, if any at all… whereas she had a companion, lowborn as he was, with whom she spoke with absolute ease, caring little for their different standing. She had always disregarded the distance that ought to exist between them, and so, she had allowed him to influence and change her as much as she had… as far as she could tell, anyone ought to wish for someone with whom they could craft a bond like the one she shared with Sokka.

"I have no idea if this conversation served any purpose, but I'm pleased enough to have met you, King Kuei" Azula said, bowing her head towards him again. The man's jaw dropped at her acknowledgement: did she still believe him a king? Or was that some sort of strange courtesy, or perhaps… mockery? Yet her tone didn't indicate as much… "So, if you'll excuse us…"

"Wait" Kuei said, reaching out a hand that found the metal bars that kept him in confinement. Both Azula and Sokka held back for a moment longer, awaiting his words, no matter how long it was taking him to compose them "You… you said destiny can change. That our choices will… shape us. I didn't think I had any choices, and truthfully, I still can't see them. To me, it appears that a world where the Fire Nation wins the war is a world with no room for a man like me"

"As tall as you may be, you hardly take up that much space" Azula smirked, and Sokka chuckled at her levity "Now, all jokes aside, I don't know for sure what place you could take in this world, but I can't even say for sure that the world's course will remain as it is in the coming future. Though, as long as you're still alive by the time I'm Fire Lord, I would be willing to help you unravel your possibilities. As much as I can't say your monarchy could ever be reinstated… perhaps you could work for your people somehow. As bitterly as you may feel towards them… chances are they still worship you in secret, even, begrudging my father for his actions while being powerless to oppose him. If the war had been the other way around, I'm pretty certain a fair share of Fire Nation loyalists would feel that way about any invaders… the people from a proud and strong nation like yours surely would, too"

Sokka grinned confidently now, as Kuei's scowl faded away, replaced by utter perplexity… and genuine hope. That, most of all, filled Sokka's heart with pride. He had dreaded he'd fail to turn Kuei's opinion around, and he had been ready to storm out without making any further attempts to reason with the man… it was fitting, as ever, that where he would fail and falter, Azula would stand her ground and succeed in his stead. It seemed she could understand the Earth King far better than she herself could have anticipated.

"Alright then, now we really should get going" Azula smiled awkwardly, nodding again "We will meet again, eventually"

"That… well, I should hope so" Kuei said, swallowing hard before bowing his head in their direction as well "Have a… a pleasant evening, Princess Azula, Sokka"

Sokka offered Kuei another smile and a nod before following Azula out of the cellblock. The Princess led the way, her head held high, but Sokka could see the light trembling of her left hand, clenched as it swayed beside her upper thighs. Before they had climbed high enough to be in plain sight for anyone on the Palace's ground level, the gladiator lunged forth and took her hand in his, offering her a grateful grin.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into that without warning… but you got through to him so easily compared to me" Sokka laughed. Despite herself, Azula smiled "I've said it before, but it bears repeating a thousand times: I'm really proud of you, Azula"

"Oh, you'd better be. As I've said before as well, this is all your fault, you meddling, irritating gladiator" Azula smirked, lining her words with gentle stroking of his knuckles "Still, don't take for granted that Kuei is some sort of ally for us just because of this. Maybe we surprised him, or confused him… but he won't be likely to settle for less than a throne easily"

"Yeah, I get that" Sokka said, releasing her hand as they continued climbing the staircase "But at least he listened, if just now, right? I'm pretty sure he was just as dumb about the Fire Nation royals as I used to be, probably assumed you were, well…"

"A monster indeed" Azula finished, and Sokka sighed "You shouldn't take it to heart, silly. It's not that important, and anyways, we have other things to discuss other than your hobby of reforming royals when they're not paying attention…"

"It's a hobby?" Sokka asked, amused. Azula snorted.

"Might as well be, with how successful you've been with some of them" Azula smiled "Either way, here. This message arrived earlier today, and while it's addressed to me, I think we both know it concerns you more"

Sokka raised a quizzical eyebrow as he accepted the small scroll Azula was offering him. He found impeccable calligraphy upon spreading it, and his lips parted as he read its contents, taking in the elegantly drawn plant at the center of the message…

"This is from Tenya" Sokka said, blinking blankly "The botanist from Ba Sing Se University, right?"

"Exactly" Azula nodded, as Sokka continued to read the scroll.

"He… wait, he found something? He did?!" Sokka exclaimed, his jaw dropping altogether now.

"The pollen of some strange plant apparently will do the trick" Azula said, smiling weakly "That is, if you still want to use said trick, in the first place…"

"The sunflower rosette shrub?" Sokka recited "Found in the northern mountains… huh?! Woah, that's…"

"Lucky? Coincidental? Call it what you will" Azula smiled "Seems like we'd have a good chance to find them in our next trip, if we're lucky. They're not too common, apparently, but we might find something if we try… that is, if you want to try at all. If you're certain you shouldn't do this, that you don't need this to fight Toph after all, well…"

"I'm not certain of anything, not when it comes to fighting our favorite earthbending prodigy" Sokka smiled sadly "But I admit, I'm not sure I should throw this away now that I know of it. Besides, if we're off to the Northern Air Temple, maybe I could get the Mechanist to give me a hand with building the bombs, right?"

"You could" Azula smiled, nodding "Then… you'll try?"

"Eh, might as well, even if I don't know if I'll use them" Sokka grinned "Don't get too mad at me if I choose not to, okay?"

"It's your decision, and yours alone" Azula said, raising her hands defensively "I defer to your judgment…"

"Hey, now, we're a team, you get a say upon my nonsense…" Sokka chuckled, and Azula smiled.

"Fair enough" she said, her chest churning at his words. They were a team, in more ways than most people ought to understand… that she'd give him room to make his own decisions, only for him to ask for her input and opinion, somehow only furthered her pride and bliss at being his secret wife "I won't be mad anyhow, but yes, I agree that, for practicality's sake, it's best to give this a shot. Just, let's refrain from telling Wan Shi Tong about this, whenever we return to his Library…"

"Yeah, no need to worry" Sokka chuckled.

"At any rate, you should get some dinner. You haven't yet, right?" Azula asked. Sokka nodded promptly at her suggestion.

"Will you go to bed? You probably ought to rest up, it's been a long day… or days, rather" he raised his eyebrows "You didn't even sleep at all last night, did you?"

"Yeah, well… I'm not all that drowsy just yet" Azula answered truthfully. Her body felt tired, to a fault… but somehow she didn't feel like sleeping right now. If she could have spent the night in Sokka's arms, it'd be a wholly different story… but she didn't want to be alone right now "I'll sit with you as you eat, if you don't mind"

"I mind that you're not getting proper rest, Princess" Sokka said, smirking and poking her forehead with a fingertip "Your hand's not going to recover any sooner if you don't sleep once in a while. But I suppose I can't dissuade you from this, so I guess I'll just have to eat really fast to make sure you go to bed, huh?"

"Oh, that's going to be quite a spectacle, then" Azula said, grimacing as Sokka chuckled and led the way to the now-empty dining room.

The few servants who had still been tidying up in the kitchen brought a meal for Sokka, and as promised, he ate it quite ravenously while Azula sat beside him, losing herself in her thoughts often, forcing herself back to reality by watching Sokka, if only to comment on how utterly crass he was for eating so recklessly. By now, those barbs were merely affectionate, and Sokka was fully aware of it as he grinned proudly at the Princess who smirked in his direction.

The servants cleaned up his plate and the table afterwards, and the torches and lanterns in the halls were dimmed, a clear sign that everyone ought to go to bed by now, other than the guards pacing the walls and main halls of the Palace. Azula breathed deeply as she walked through the corridors with Sokka, her lips tightly pursed. She truly could use Sokka's comforting companionship for a while longer… but there wasn't much she could do about it anymore, was there? The Imperial Palace was more familiar than it used to be, yet she felt uneasy about taking bold risks with Sokka, no matter what…

"Say… do you want to talk about it?"

Azula froze on her tracks, turning to glance at Sokka quickly enough that her hair whipped against him. He braced himself for the light impact, smiling lovingly at her when her nervous eyes found his.

"I've known you for way too long by now, Princess" he said "Something's bugging you tonight. And if you don't want to talk about it that's fine, but I figured I'd offer just in case you did"

"I… oh, well, I probably shouldn't. It's stu-…"

"You know, you always think your problems are stupid" Sokka cut her off bluntly, and Azula grimaced "You'll have to excuse me, Princess, but it's way more stupid to think your problems are stupid than… well, than the problems themselves!"

"So, that means I'm… doubly stupid?" Azula asked, with a dry grin and Sokka huffed.

"That's not what I meant" he grumbled as the Princess laughed softly "I'm just saying, you're too hard on yourself when something bothers you. Especially when it's something emotional and irrational. And that's just not good for you, in any way"

"I bet it's not" Azula sighed "But I can't help but judge myself whenever some foolishness takes over me. Especially when I know I have no right to feel the way I do, so…"

"You don't?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows "Who says you don't? Is it the same unseen entity that controls destiny, by any chance…?"

"Uh, no" Azula smiled, shaking her head "I say so, not anyone else. It's… oh, never mind. We should just go to bed and…"

"I can't let you go like this now, turns out" Sokka pouted stubbornly, and Azula laughed and shook her head.

"And here I thought you wanted me to rest so my hand could be all better as soon as possible" she said.

"Well, I do!" Sokka pouted "But if you go to bed while you're troubled you probably won't rest either, so…"

Azula frowned, as her earlier idea about where to find Sokka returned to her mind. Sokka missed the glint of it in his lover's eyes as he stroked his chin in deep thought, pondering a possible solution for their current predicament.

"The bathrooms will be empty at this hour" Azula said, and Sokka raised his eyes to meet hers quickly "I mean… if you truly wish to talk somewhere more private, it's a good possibility, as long as we're not seen entering them at the same time…"

"Huh. Sounds good" Sokka smiled, nodding in her direction "Alright, you go first. I'll catch up with you in a bit"

Azula smiled and nodded too. It was bold and reckless, surely they shouldn't do this for enough reasons… but the empty corridors invited such recklessness. As long as they were cautious, no one ought to catch them in the midst of their harmless schemes.

The Princess gathered a change of clothes and a towel, making her way downstairs to the bathrooms, and she barely had to wait five minutes before hearing Sokka knocking on the door she had locked as a precaution. He grinned reassuringly once she opened it, and as soon as it was locked again his arms had surrounded her in an intimate embrace, their lips joined sweetly.

"Heh… that makes me feel better already" Azula smiled, pressing her brow to Sokka's as he chuckled softly.

"Figured it'd be better to talk while we're locked up someplace where I can do that, yup" he said, stroking her hair gently before guiding her to the stools near the massive tub that was built into the ground. Azula hadn't visited this particular bathroom before, and doing it with Sokka seemed the right way to grow acquainted with it "Alright then… what's up?"

He asked the question casually, as his hands worked the fastenings of her armor and clothes expertly. Azula smiled and returned the favor, stripping him naked far more quickly by tugging his sash undone: his shirt opened, his trousers dropped to his knees, held in place by his boots, and most his delectable body was exposed for her to admire and caress as she pleased… yet she didn't do so, for Sokka had taken to stripping her naked and kept her hands busy, ever handling her fractured wrist carefully.

"W-well… ugh, it's the same damn thing from Whaletail Island, I guess" Azula admitted at last, shaking her head. Sokka crooked an eyebrow.

"Uh… what? You think we'll bump into some fake dragons who pretend to be real just to trick Xin Long, or…?"

"What? No!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but a lot of weird stuff happened at Whaletail Island" Sokka chuckled, pushing down her underwear before tugging her breast bindings loose.

"I don't mean things that happened there, I mean… the same nonsense I kept thinking of back then is what's bothering me now" Azula swallowed hard: Sokka knelt before her, prompting her to sit on a stool as he removed her boots "When I… when I thought that maybe, if you found your sister, you'd decide to go to the South Pole with her and I had no right to stop you, if you decided to do so"

"Okay?" Sokka said, raising an eyebrow: both boots were off now, and it was Azula's turn to remove his remaining clothes "Why would that bother you again now? You should know already that I'm not going to… oh. Oh, damn. You mean… Xin?"

Azula sighed, as Sokka stepped out of his own boots and removed his underwear. The Princess didn't raise her head, not even to ogle her secret husband, and if anything was a bad sign, it was that. Sokka sighed before moving to fill a bucket with warm water, pouring it carefully over Azula: she raised her head only then, as though the water served to bring her back to her senses.

"You're worried that, if we succeed, he'll… decide to stay with any dragons we may find?" Sokka said, finding soap to cleanse Azula. The Princess nodded, complying with his scrubbing despite feeling quite childish by sitting still as he did all the work.

"Just like I was worried about that when it happened with you. And… it's not right for me to be such a selfish asshole, is it?"

"It's not right for you to think you're a selfish asshole for this, if anything" Sokka smiled, and Azula sighed "Alright, alright, we'll finish cleaning up and talk this over in the tub, okay?"

Azula nodded, though her heart already felt lighter, to a fault, thanks to Sokka's understanding demeanor. He always took great care of her, but in times like these, his affection shone through most blatantly: his fingers massaged her scalp as he washed her hair thoroughly, and she found herself smiling and laughing as he cleaned her body to the best of his ability – he snuck in several caresses, as he ever did, and she welcomed his groping, occasionally reciprocating it with her uninjured hand.

She tried to help him clean up too, but as she only could use one hand, Sokka dealt with most of it himself, constantly offering her reassuring grins as he rinsed off the soap and hair product. By the time they were finished, the two fled from the chilly night air by entering the large bathtub, which Azula's bending warmed for them in no time.

"Alright, then. We're all clean and crisp now. Time for your verdict" Azula said, sitting between his legs as she rested against his chest, her moist hair smoothly pressed to his skin "Am I truly not a dreadful human being for wanting those I care about to stay beside me…?"

"If that makes you dreadful, I'm pretty sure everyone is" Sokka smiled, kissing her temples softly, reassuringly "See, your fears aren't that farfetched, and I assure you, most people have them often. I guess you have it a little worse because of… well, maybe because of your childhood? Your cousin, then your mother… maybe even Zuko? Going by the things you said that night in Ember Island, it sounded like everyone close to you always disappeared, or turned their backs on you, or so…"

"It felt that way for a long time" Azula whispered, closing her eyes as she listened to his heart's strong beating "Lo and Li, too… they'd taken care of me all my life, and as mad as I was at them for believing I should have settled for a life spent abiding by tradition, I did wonder if… if they'd fight me once I sent them away. If maybe they'd defy my commands and stay. But… they just left. Like a lot of people before them had, I guess, but still…"

"Makes sense" Sokka said, biting his lip "I'd hope recent years have changed your views on this subject, but it's easier said than done, isn't it?"

"It shouldn't be" Azula sighed, burying her face in his chest "Because every time I second-guess you, every time I think maybe you'll change your mind, I… I know you're not likely to. And then I feel like an asshole for not giving you the credit you deserve, for not trusting you as fully as I should, and it's just… it's just not fair, is it?"

"Probably not. But it's hardly so terrible, is it?" Sokka smiled "Back when things began between us, you did something pretty crazy by kissing me as you did. I thought you were playing with me, I thought you were attracted to me… I thought a lot of things. But I didn't think, not really, that maybe you just didn't want me to leave. That maybe you just wanted to keep me beside you by whatever means necessary, and you had no other clue of how to get the message across. Am I right?"

"Uh… yeah" Azula conceded, though she didn't feel much better for acknowledging that fact.

"That's how you acted when our relationship was barely beginning" Sokka said, his fingers caressing her hair delicately, pushing it away from her face "And by Whaletail Island, you were willing to give me a ride home, no matter if you feared I might leave you afterwards. All be it so I could be free to make my own decisions… because that's how much you respected me, how much you trusted me. How much you loved me"

Azula gritted her teeth and nodded. Sokka smiled, kissing her cheek softly now.

"You can't control the way you feel, love. But you can control the way you react to it all, see? So… even when you're afraid these days, you don't let that fear guide your actions. And that's already a sign of great strength, rather than something to be ashamed or feel stupid about"

"I… guess" Azula whispered, glancing up at him "I'm not really planning on sabotaging Xin's quest or anything, if we find dragons and he chooses to stay with them I won't get in the way… but I just can't help but think I'm going to miss him like hell. We'll always be connected, regardless of distance… but it is, without a doubt, selfish to wish that he might choose me over them. Especially when I can't offer him anything they could, so…"

"You love Xin" Sokka said, and Azula gulped but nodded "You'd like to spend as much time as you can with him, and you treasure his companionship. That's not a crime, Azula"

"I know, I know…" she sighed "I just wish I could send him off with a genuine smile, if it really comes to that. If… if he makes that choice. I don't want him to change his mind or feel sorry for me or anything as stupid as that… I want him to be free. To do as he pleases, without having to worry about hurting my damn feelings"

"Well… I'd like to think he's already free enough to do that. And if he's anything like me, he might choose to use that freedom to worry about you anyhow" Sokka smiled, cupping Azula's face between his hands and kissing her lips softly "It's funny… but you're just as bad as I was in Shu Jing now"

"I… what? In what possible sense…?" Azula asked, narrowing her eyes as Sokka chuckled.

"Remember when I said I… I didn't often think about how much you loved me?" he said "And you said you did think about how much I loved you, all that…"

"Right?"

"You keep thinking people will leave, because of those who've left in the past" Sokka said "And it's not a fear you can avoid. But see… there's quite a few new people in your life these days, right? Such as Xin Long and me. You were worried that I might choose to leave, when I wouldn't have chosen anyone else over you, no matter what… if you give me the choice again, I'll still choose you. Every time, I'll choose you.

"And I can't say for sure… but Xin Long owes you a lot, about as much as I do. Just like you did it with me, you saved him from a life of darkness. You gave him the world, when he didn't have anything but a cave to spend his days in. How easy do you think it is to walk away from someone who has meant as much as you mean to either of us?"

"I…" Azula started, though she had no idea how to answer Sokka's question. He smiled, his thumb stroking her cheek gently.

"I can't say for sure what Xin will decide if we're successful… but whatever it is, it's safe to say he loves you back" he said "Do you think about that, when you ponder the likelihood that he'll leave?"

"I… I do. To a fault" Azula whispered "But he belongs with his own, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, with those who breathe fire" Sokka said pompously, prompting Azula to laugh as he smirked at her "You're not a literal dragon, but you're family to him, I'm sure"

"Then we both are" Azula said, dropping her face on his shoulder and embracing him tightly. Sokka grinned.

"Maybe. But my point is, in the end… that you seem to overestimate our ability to live without you" Sokka declared, prompting her to laugh softly against him "I don't know about Xin, not for sure… but I can safely say that, as far as I'm concerned, a life without you wouldn't be worth living. Not even a little bit"

Azula sighed again, raising her head to look at her stubborn husband, with his defiant cerulean eyes that seemed to want a comeback, a retort, anything to show she disagreed with his words. But instead, she allowed herself to smile, if just slowly…

"I… I know I mean a lot to you. I know I mean a lot to Xin, too" she whispered "But I haven't always been, well, the best at showing how much you both mean to me. So now, when I'm faced with the possibility that… t-that he might leave… I wish I'd been better. I wish I could've been a better rider, friend, partner, and…"

"You've been amazing…"

"I still could have been better" Azula said, shaking her head as Sokka sighed.

"You're never going to forgive yourself for not giving your all to everything you ever do, I get it" Sokka said, stroking her cheek "I'll have to live with that. But dang… maybe some of us really don't want to leave. No matter how much better you think you could have been, maybe you're the best thing that ever happened to us. How's that?"

"It's a little sad, but flattering at once" Azula admitted, her cheeks pink as Sokka chuckled at her admission.

"Like I said, I can't speak for Xin" Sokka whispered "But I'll be damned if I ever let anyone take me from your side. I know I belong with you, no matter who my people might be, no matter what tradition or common sense may say. I want to be with you, Azula… and I will fight to prove I'm worthy of standing by your side for the rest of my life, if that's what it takes. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Xin feels the same way"

As ever, his words resulted in an unsettling knot rising in her throat, even if it was one accompanied by heartfelt, joyful tears. Her hands fell upon his broad chest, and Sokka grinned reassuringly at her reaction.

"I… I know I should already get those things through my head, curse it, you've married me twice as it is…" Azula admitted, laughing softly through the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes "But the truth is, to this day, I… I can't quite believe that anyone could want to be by my side as badly as I want to keep them with me. I'm sorry that I'm such an idiot, but…"

"You're not an idiot for this" Sokka smiled, even though Azula shook her head.

"You make me happier than I ever thought I could be" she said, closing her eyes, yet the tears leaked out of them anyways "I'm so selfish, so greedy, because… because the world feels like a better place when I see it while standing by your side. I've never loved anyone the way I love you, and it's… it's too damn lucky that you want all the things I want, just as strongly. I… I can't be grateful enough for it"

"You can spend the rest of our lives being thankful for it, then" Sokka smiled mischievously "Because as far as I'm concerned, we're living them out together, for good, no matter what"

Azula smiled and nodded, leaning in to share another heartfelt kiss with him. Sokka's embrace tightened, hoping she'd truly understand how desperately he loved her if he kissed her with unabashed passion. He dove in fully, taking advantage of her current docility, and he kissed her until they were breathless, smiling and relaxed.

"Thank you" Azula whispered, and Sokka grinned.

"Nothing to thank me for, I'm just telling you the truth" he stated, and she laughed softly.

"That's worth thanking you for all the more, if anything" she said, pressing her brow to his "My brave, honest, righteous husband…"

"Hmm? Anything else?" Sokka asked teasingly, and Azula laughed.

"Then goofy, silly, adorable…"

"Hey! That's not so flattering!" Sokka pouted, prompting Azula to kiss his lips to silence his protests.

"And handsome… and clever. And ridiculous as well" Azula smiled as she continued pressing her lips to his, with each new trait she listed. Sokka sighed but grinned too, in an inevitable gesture of surrender "Still… thank you. I… I don't know what will happen tomorrow, or the next day. Maybe Xin won't choose what I fear he might, and then I'll feel utterly stupid for making such a ruckus… but if he does, I will support him. I will encourage him to follow his dreams… and I will accept his decision as fairly as I can. It may hurt, but… I want him to be happy. As happy as I am when I'm with you both, as it was last night…"

"Heh, you really have to explain just what did I do while under that cactus juice's influence…" Sokka said, smirking as Azula laughed and nodded.

"I suppose I can tell you more about that on our way to the Northern Air Temple" she said, prodding his nose with hers "Though I will say you were lovely. Far lovelier than I expected you to be under the influence of a weird drink…"

"That's good to know, if true" Sokka smiled awkwardly, and Azula laughed.

"I love you so much, Sokka" she said, breathing deeply mere moments before Sokka caught her lips in his.

She succumbed to another long, breathless, deep kiss, and to the bliss brought on by his tender smile right afterwards, too. His brow met hers, and he held her as closely as could be, embracing her in heart, body and soul, as he ever did…

"And I love you right back" he whispered "And so does he, I'm sure. You'll see, you'll see…"

Azula smiled and nodded, hoping Sokka would be right. Whatever decision Xin Long took, if they found dragons indeed, Azula would ensure to make him understand just how much he meant to her, whether by welcoming him to stay beside her, or encouraging him to join his brethren. Anything he might need from her, she'd provide, as it ever had been. No matter what he chose to do, their bond would remain unbroken.

For just as Sokka claimed she had given Xin Long a whole world to explore and discover, Xin Long had brought light to her life in her darkest hours until then. When she had dreaded she'd fail to find her way out of that forest, that she'd lose everything she had ever fought for, his fire had spoken to her from the depths of that cave, calling her to him: all the hope she had discarded after her falling out with Sokka, during the months of pursuing the Rough Rhinos to no avail, had returned in full when Xin Long had arrived in her life. He had revitalized her, strengthened her… and a lot of it had come from the awareness that she'd always have him by her side. The knowledge that, no matter what, her new partner would stand by her. By now, she knew Sokka would do so as well… she was no longer as alone and afraid as she had been before Xin Long's arrival. And whatever Xin Long chose, the truth was that they would never be apart, not truly.

So she smiled and kissed her lover again, grateful for his reassuring words, for being a safe harbor in her every storm. For offering her no end of kindness and understanding, and allowing her a chance to reason with her own feelings and fears while soothing her sorrows. Whatever might happen on the next few days, she felt fully certain that night, in Sokka's comforting arms, that she'd never be alone again. That she had found the true partners she needed in life… and that no matter what decisions any of them might make in the future, their bonds they shared would endure into eternity.