A/N:

Azula Ship Challenge entry from Tumblr. Prompt - Lightning Strikes. Pairing - Sokka/Azula. Tagged SFW.

This is entry number two for the Azula Ship Challenge. If you'd like to participate, then prompts will be available every Monday until Monday, November 28th. You can check out the list on my Tumblr account or visit PurplePlatypusbear21's or Clarielparke's accounts to get more details as well. Please support the writers participating in this challenge.

Anyway, enjoy the entry!

- Lightning Strikes -

Her eyes were amber. In all his life Sokka had never seen something like that. He understood, of course, that such eyes existed. Scrolls penned by hardscrabble merchants and journals written by literate soldiers spoke of women and men with fire in their hearts, the souls of dragons made manifest in human form, passionate as they were brutal. He had seen paintings too, of murals scrawled onto old walls with a thousand gold-painted eyes glaring into a black abyss, wildfires bending to the will of their masters.

And yet it was such a shock to Sokka. He had never expected to gaze upon her oval face to see the sun shining in her eyes. They were so bright, so amazingly invigorating.

Her skin was pale, covered in crimson and inlaid with gold. His mind instantly thought of snow and bone and ivory, but they were cold and hard and dead to him, a harsh reminder of his barren homeland. All he thought about was feeling finger to finger, palm to palm, to feel the warmth of her beautiful skin and to know unfathomable pleasure.

Her hair was black, crowned by a gold hairpiece. Darker than a warm and moonless summer night, soft as silk and combed with care. It fell in a long curtain behind her back, brushing against the black steel of her armor.

Sokka didn't believe in love at first sight, of two people meeting for the first time and dedicating their entire lives to each other. That was a thing for fairy tales and bedtimes stories. The ways of this island nation had hardened him to expect nothing more than the fleeting moments of lust, craving it like a drug.

And yet she struck him hard; this lightning bolt from a clear sky. He would search for the secrets of passion just to hear her voice in his ear, to stab a man in the back if it meant standing closer to her. If he could have her, then he'd want her forever.

There were others that wanted her too, sons of men with noble names stretching back into the heroic past of the Fire Nation, when the islands were unified under one flag by the victorious few. Sons with money and clout and fair skin like hers. Sokka had only the backing of a respected gentleman to lend him any status. That, and a sword made by his own hand, tempered with the blood of bandits and rebels. He was nothing more than a castaway plucked from the sea and given a home, a boy without a family and without a shred of nobility.

And yet he was given a chance, if anything to humor the princess and lend variety to the plethora of suitors coveting her. If she knew about his service to her country she wasn't letting on. The ways in which drunken bandits and petty rebels could die would hardly impress her. They were not the contemptible opponents requiring skill and valor that excited the imagination. Compared to her deeds, he was woefully unremarkable.

They walked among the trimmed bushes and red pagodas of the royal gardens, shadowed by faceless guardsmen and leering courtiers whispering behind little fans. Sokka could feel their hateful eyes raking over his back. He tried not to care about it too much, walking with as much dignity as he could.

He looked upon her with as little bashfulness as he was able to muster, trying to catch her eye with a smile, to show her she was worth it, but there was a gnawing feeling in his heart that choked his confidence. She was beyond him. He had never felt so out of place, not since he washed up on the black sand shores of the Fire Nation, with the scent of the sea heavy in his bloodied nose. The pleasant aroma of her perfume teased his senses in place of that foul scent and he yearned to be closer to her.

Again he glanced her way, hoping to see her beautiful eyes, but she spared him no such luxury. She merely strutted at a deliberate pace, arms crossed behind her, the slightest pinch of her soft red lips betraying some apparent disgust.

He couldn't blame her. While she quietly contemplated the strange turn of events that brought a foreigner to her, Sokka attempted to talk. He had no idea what to say to her though, or even if it was acceptable for him to speak first. He felt as if he was balancing on a fragile tightrope of courtly manners and protocol, of which he had little practice in. One word out of place would mean social suicide.

He swallowed his fear and cleared his throat, attempting to talk with as much false grace as an actor would. "I… understand if my presence here is unusual, your highness."

She stirred at his voice, her eyes flickering to life as her cheeks turn a light red. Sokka didn't know what to make of that. Perhaps she was embarrassed that someone like him would address her so brashly.

Stifling the unease in his heart, he crossed his arms behind him. "I'm an oddity I imagine, a savage from a strange land playing dress-up and pretending to be civilized. I understand if you find me intolerable to be around. Rest assured, your highness, your patience with me is much appreciated and I am most grateful for it."

Her eyes narrowed, sparing him an inscrutable glance. "Hm. Indeed."

Sokka blinked, nodding to himself. "Indeed."

They walked in silence for a time. Sokka tried to keep his fingers from drumming nervously in his hands, attempting to smile as he took in his surroundings. He tried to speak again, but every time he opened his mouth he felt more like an idiot. As they walked he had the dreadful impression that the faintest hint of her smiles were only meant to humor him. He could only imagine how strenuous it was to be around him, a commoner flirting with the idea of becoming ennobled.

Sokka just hoped he didn't sound as stupid as he thought, that her cryptic glances and little smiles were somehow signs of genuine interest in him. It was a pleasant lie of course, something to give him hope, no matter how false it was.

He knew better of course. He would never stand a chance of courting her.

But then she stopped. It caught him off guard and he had to halt mid-step just to turn and face her.

"What is it?" he asked.

And that's when he saw it. At first she seemed reluctant, but her quick glances soon turned into a piercing amber gaze. He could have sworn the blush on her cheeks were as red as her robes.

"Your eyes," she stated, with as much courage as she could muster, "They're blue."

A/N:

When out of that orange colored sky... flash! Bam! Ala-kazam! Wonderful you came by!

Hope you enjoyed the entry! If you'd like to read more stories related to this challenge, please check out "Cold When You're Not Around" and "No Better Job for a Princess" by PurplePlatypusBear21 and Clarielparke, respectively. For entries relating to this challenge with Sokkla, check out Seyary-Minamto's short stories on Tumblr under the #AzulaShipChallenge tag.

I'll see you all for the next installment!