MOON FESTIVAL
DAY 2
"So, what's this festival about?" Azula asked Sokka as they walked through the Palace hallways, almost at dawn.
Most Water Tribes and Fire Nation festivals were going to be starting at dawn.
Early, they both had been in busy in the library, which, after much insisting of his part, she left him to use. He had been reading old Water Tribe legends, which mostly he found a little boring, while the Princess had been still studying the different colors of fire.
Sokka thought for a moment before answering her. "Well, according to what my people believes, the first-ever water bender was…."
"The Moon." she interrupted him.
He nodded, "Yeah…And also, as the moon was the first water bender. The tribes believes she controls the ties which, most times are helpful for good fishing," Sokka explained. "So, one night, every year, we take our boats and let the ties guide us into the ocean, then make sure to turn off every light in the Tribes and the boats and we let the moonlight to guide us back home."
"Nice. Just like the books describe it," said Azula.
"Wait…" he stopped his tracks. "So, you already knew?" she nodded, "Then, why did you ask me?" he frowned.
"I was testing you…" she said smirking.
Sokka raised an eyebrow, "Why? How? What for…?" he asked inquisitively.
"I…" she was going to explain when a voice interrupted them.
"Daughter," Fire Lord Ozai appeared in the hallway, both turned to look at him. "I was looking for you."
"Great," Azula muttered, "What can I do for you, father?" said the Princess.
"Oh, I was just simply looking for you, to see if you will want to join your mother and me tonight. There is an earth bender boy I want you to meet and…"
The Princess throws her head back disgruntled. "Seriously? At the feast you said..." she looked at her father with an annoyed frown and took a deep breath. "Dad, please… please…I'm begging you to stop playing matchmaker! It's annoying and embarrassing, and not to mention…."
"Actually, Fire Lord Ozai…" Sokka interrupted Azula, and both sets of gold eyes were on him, which he found a little intimidating.
"Sokka, boy! I almost didn't see you there," Ozai greeted him, and Sokka gave him a little nod. "It's my daughter making you miserable?" he joked.
Azula's mouth opened in surprise. "Why AM I making HIM miserable? Shouldn't be the other way around?" she felt offended.
Sokka snickered, "Yes, she is. Indeed." he mocked, getting an annoyed look from the Princess. "But the thing is, yesterday I asked your daughter if she would like to spend the festival with me." Ozai's eyes widened and sparkled like a little boy whose parents just bought him his favorite toy.
He blinked a few times. "Ohh… It's that so?" he said with a malicious smirk.
Azula rolled her eyes.
"It's not what you think…." said Sokka, "It's just...We…" He scratched the back of his neck warily, not knowing what else to say.
"We had a pretty rocky start, so…. We are trying to get along, right?" Azula finished for him.
"Yeah… That's all." The boy said.
The Fire Lord's eyes went from his daughter to the boy next to her a few times, before finally saying. "Perfect!" he smiled. "Who am I to try and stop my daughter to have fun with her... friends?... In that case, I will get going, so you two can get ready. Enjoy the Festival." he said before walking away from them.
"Huh… Is he always like this?" he scratched the back of his head. "...You know, trying to set you up?" Sokka asked when the Fire Lord was far from them to hear.
"You have no idea," Azula let out a snort and rubbed a temple. "But he is right," she said after a moment, "We need to get ready," she started to walk towards her room. "See you at the gate?" said a Princess with a slight smile, she owned him a big favor.
He nodded, "See you at the gate." said Sokka, and a soft smile appeared on his face as he watched her leave.
...
Fire Lord Ozai was joyful as he went back to his chambers. He entered still smiling and found his wife sitting in front of the mirror also getting ready.
"Why do you look so happy, honey?" Fire Lady Ursa asked him inquisitively, with a side smile, while arranging some pieces of her hair.
"You are never going to believe what I just saw, my love."
Ozai was happy, he might be a grandfather son, and probably by both of his children.
...
One hour later it was dawn.
Azula was heading to the gate of the Palace, when she and Zuko collided against each other in one of the hallways, both distracted in their things.
"Are you blind?!" she snarled at him, while grimacing, after almost tumbling each other.
"Are you… smidge?!" he backfired with a lame insult, not knowing what else to say.
"What did you…? Tsk!" she pouted looking vividly at her brother, before realizing something important.
The siblings looked at each other clothes, scanning up and down.
Both let out an annoyed snort, "Agrr!…. Mother went crazy with the matching clothes, didn't she?" Azula criticized pouting, even more, their clothes were matching again.
"Do you think she planned this for the entire month?" Zuko questioned.
Azula huffed, "I wouldn't be surprised if she did," she rolled her eyes. Both started to walk. "Where are you going?"
Her brother started to speed up his tracks a little. "To the main gate, to wait for Suki," said Zuko. "You?" he asked.
"Same," she said, "By the way, I'm gonna get back at you for your little trick from yesterday," Azula warned him, "Don't even think for a second I forgot about it."
"Hey, have you ever heard of forgive and forget? Maybe, you should try it." Zuko uttered hopeful.
"Why? I'm neither a saint or senile." Azula retorted, walking at the same speed as Zuko, realizing something.
"It's called being a good person," The Prince said, "You should be nicer to people."
"Why?" she inquired grimacing.
Zuko thought for a second in his answer. "Because... It's the right thing to do."
"Why?" Azula repeated.
"If you're nice to people they'll like you more." said her brother.
She shrugged, "So?"
Zuko opened his mouth, then closed and opened once more. "Yeah, I don't know where to go from here," he admitted.
Azula smirked and shook her head. "Nice try, but...Nah..." said the Princess while reaching the main gate. "Where you racing me?" she asked when they stopped their tracks.
"No…," he said, "I was kicking your butt," Zuko smirked.
"Oh, yeah… Very mature." Azula rolled her eyes.
They stood there for a moment until The Prince broke the silence. "By the way, a little bird, told me you are going to the festival with Sokka, right?" he teased her by pushing her playfully.
She made a grin, "Was that little bird, father?" she pushed him back but with a little more force to make him wobble.
Her brother smirked. "No… You did." he mocked while crossing his arms proudly.
Azula widened her eyes." Whoa…. Finally, the student, surpassed the master." she clapped ironically.
"What can I say?" he shrugged, "I had a good master," Azula smirked. "So… It's true?"
"Tsk!..." Azula without a flinch reached to pinch one of his cheeks, really hard, like when they were kids. "Stop it! would you?" she said, pinching him harder.
Zuko winced a little at the pain. "Owww...Ouch…Oww" he whined, "What? It was a simple question?" her pinch got even harder. "Fine, fine, fine... You win. I will stop." she let go of him. "Sheesh…" Zuko complained while rubbing his cheek. "But are you…" he tried to ask again.
"Seriously?" Azula raced her hand to punch him in the head but stopped mid-air when she saw two figures walking towards them.
Sokka and Suki were talking and walking friendly. Both Royal siblings looked at them.
"Did they know each other from before?" Azula whispered to Zuko, intrigued.
"Actually, they used to date…" she looked at her brother with raised eyebrows. "But it was a long time ago… So you don't have to be jealous about….Ouch…" Zuko complained when Azula kicked him in the leg. "What was…."
"You know what was that for." she narrowed her eyes while crossing her arms.
"Are you two always fighting?" Suki asked them with a smile when they reached them.
Azula shrugged, "Only when he is an idiot, so like ninety-nine percent of the time." she said.
Zuko frowned, "Only when she is grumpy, so like ninety-nine percent of the time." he said and both siblings stuck their tongues out at each other.
"Okay. Time off, you two," Suki said, standing between the siblings. "Let's have a nice time. Shall we?"
She is too good for you Zuzu, The Princess thought.
"Ready?" Sokka asked Azula and she nodded, "See you." He said before walking out of the Palace ground and head towards the streets of the Capitol, joined by the Princess. Leaving the others two behind.
"They look cute, don't you think?" Suki said to her boyfriend once they were out of range.
"Careful. If my sister ever hears you, she will burn your hair." said the Prince.
"Good thing she will never hear me," Suki replied, and Zuko gave her a soft smile, before taking Suki's hand and heading towards the streets of the Capitol.
...
"...So what are you trying to say is that, since when you turned 14 years old your parents have been trying to set you up, with random guys?" Sokka questioned her while walking through a busy street after she explained to him the situation.
"Yeap… Here, at the age of 14, you are `Introduced to society´ and technically you are eligible for marriage." Azula commented, making air quotes and a grin.
Sokka was dumbstruck, "That's insane! I mean, I think about Katara when she was 14 and, I can't picture her getting married, or anything like that, I can only remember her, throwing snowballs at me and going penguin sliding. "
Azula tilted her head. "Penguin sliding?" she looked at him curiously, "What's that?"
"Well, a penguin is…"
"Tsk!" she rolled her eyes, "No, you dumbass!" she snorted, "I know what a penguin is… I mean the sliding part." the Princess clarified.
Sokka widened his eyes. "Oh… It's technically, what it says… We go into the hill, where the penguin colonies are, and after you feed them, you can ride them and race in them. It's really fun. We used to do it quite a lot when we were younger."
"It sounds like fun," she admitted trying to imagine that.
"Maybe one day, you can get to try it." he looked at her, who softly smiled and looked down.
"Maybe," Azula muttered before letting out a sigh.
They walked in silence for a couple of seconds.
Sokka didn't know why but that smile made him feel bad for her. He always thought that being royalty was great, but after hearing all the cons that come with having royal blood, he wasn't so sure about that anymore.
He looked at her next to him, from the corner of his eyes. Azula had a neutral expression, but he wanted to change that.
"Come on." he took her by the wrist and dragged her to a food stand.
For a split of a second, she was going to pull out of his grip, not used to this kind of touch, but for some unknown reason, she didn't.
"You need to try this." he pointed as his eyes sparkled at the look of the many types of kebabs.
The man's eyes in charge of the stand widened. "Princess, welcome!" he greeted her, nodding. "What can I offer you?" he asked them a little wary.
Azula looked at his companion. "I'm not sure about…." she muttered to Sokka. The Princess wasn't used to eat anything outside of the Palace or cooked by anyone else than the Royal Chef.
Sokka pouted, "Oh, come on! Azula," he complained, "The point of these Festivals is also to experience them in all their splendor, and that includes food. Come on." he insisted.
Azula rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay… Would you stop whining if I agree?" Sokka nodded vigorously. "Fine… But you choose." That way she will be available to blame him if she got stomach sick.
Sokka looked at the kebabs cautiously. "Can I get one of each?" he asked the man who was serving the food, which nodded, and after putting the kebabs in a paper bag, he thanked them with a soft smile.
"You need to try this one." Sokka extended to her one kebab when they regain their walking through the streets.
She took it, still not too convinced. "If I don't like it, I'm going to…." Azula began to warn him.
"Shush, woman… and eat it," he said while eating one himself.
The Princess made a grin before biting it. "It's… pretty good," she confessed widening her eyes at the realization, the flavor was good.
Sokka made a triumphant smile. "See?... What did I tell you?" he finished his own and bumping her slightly.
Azula rolled her eyes. "I got to tell you, snow boy, you have a nice taste," she said returning the bumping a little playfully.
"Here," Sokka lend her another one. "Have another one, they all taste pretty good," The Princess took her second kebab, who turned as good as the first one. "So...What did you use to do for fun, when you were younger?" he asked.
"Fun?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, Come on! Tell me your happiest childhood memories!" he insisted.
Azula made a grin, "My what?" Sokka pouted, and The Princess snickered. "Fine, fine." Azula frowned to think. "Well….I…." her mouth opened and closed a few times.
"What?... You didn't use to do anything for fun?" he teased her, "Come on, you have to be kidding."
"It's just...I can't think in anything right now," she placed a hand below her chin to think, "I mean when I was four, I started my fire bending sessions…"
His mouth widened, "Whoa… At four? Quite early isn't it?" Sokka asked amazed.
Azula shrugged, "According to my parents, I started to show fire bending signals since I was 8 months old…." she explained, "So, at 6 I got enrolled in the Royal Academy for Girls, and sometimes Mai and Ty Lee would come over, and I will force Zuko to play with us and make him miserable." she said remembering with a smile.
"Ty Lee is the girl from yesterday right?" Sokka asked her.
Azula nodded, "Yeah… The pink lover" she added, "Then, at eleven, I graduated early from the Academy and got the library, and later at fourteen, I made my "debut" into the nobility, and I have been courted without stop since then. Which, was six years ago, so…wait... " she snapped her fingers when a memory came back towards her. "Before my father became the Fire Lord, we used to go every summer to our family house in Ember Island."
"Well, see? A family vacation can be fun," Accidentally their hands brushed, but none of them said anything. "So, I hope you have room for dessert." he smiled again.
"Dessert?" she raised an eyebrow. Was his stomach bottomless?
Sokka dragged her again to another food stand, this one was a Taiyaki one.
He turned towards her. "This time you choose," said Sokka.
"B-But, you are the expert one… in this food thing…" Azula remembered him, "It's Water Tribe food, after all."
He placed his hands in her shoulders. "I trust you," said Sokka with a smile.
Azula grimaced. "You shouldn't," she said.
He let out a burst of laughter. "It's not that hard, It's not military-strategic."
The Princess huffed. "That's for sure. I'm excellent at that," she said proudly.
Sokka rolled his eyes. "Just, choose whatever you feel like to."
"If... the Princess allows me, I can suggest some options…" the old lady in the stand offered her help to her.
"See?... You got this," said Sokka patting her in the head.
Azula snorted at him. "If you don't like it, you don't get to complain. Got it?" she said threateningly.
"I won't." Sokka winked at the old lady, who returned a little smile, before focusing on the Princess.
"I have syrup, cream…."
Sokka took a few steps back, and after a moment watching at the confused look in the Princess's face by the number of different flavors, he felt a poke on his shoulder. He turned and for a moment he thought it was Ty Lee, Azula's friend.
"I thought I recognized you from far, handsome." she smiled at him.
"Hey...you...Ty Woo, right?" he made memory of the name Ty Lee told him the previous day.
"You remembered!" she said happily. "Sokka, right?"
"Yeah…" he lied, if Ty Lee hadn't told him the previous night, he would have never remembered. "So, are you… enjoying the festival?" Sokka asked politely.
"Yes...it's lovely….By the way…" she said a few moments later. "I was wondering if you would mind showing me around? I mean, after all, is one of your people traditions right?" Ty Woo said in a flirty way.
"I-I will love to…really " Awkward. He thought, "But, I'm kind of with someone already, I'm just waiting for her to…"
...
Back in the stand, The Princess was still trying to make some choices, there were too many fillings to choose from.
"So, the Fire Lord finally found a suitable candidate for our Princess?" the old woman said with a soft voice.
"Huh?" Azula glanced at the woman, not sure if she heard her well.
"That young water boy," the woman pointed at him with a slight move. "He seems to really like our Princess," she added with a soft smile.
Azula glanced swiftly at Sokka behind her, his back was towards her. "It's not like that. He is just being polite, and he is the son of one of the chiefs, so I have to be polite with him too." said the Princess.
"With all due respect, Princess. I have lived many, many years, and I know how to recognize young love."
Azula frowned, "We are not…"
"Maybe not now. But you will be," the old woman assured, "That… If…" Her eyes, when somewhere behind the Princess. "If you realize and acknowledge it before a third one appears in the picture."
...
"Her?" she tilted her head and crossed her arms. "Who's her?"
"Me," Azula said appearing next to Sokka with crossed arms and narrow eyes.
Ty Woo eye's widened. "Princess!" she said and rushed to make a little bow before here.
"I got us three each…" she handed him the bag with the taiyaki, without looking away from Ty Lee's sister.
"Awesome!." he said while inspectionating it and opening the bag to smell them.
"Which one are you?" Azula asked her. With the past of the time, the Princess learned to identify them perfectly by the color they used to wear, she knew how to identify all Ty Lee's seven sisters. "All of you look the same…Ty…."
"Woo," the girl completed, "Ty Woo."
"Huh, right…" the Princess scowled, "Do you need something?" said Azula raising an eyebrow, and both pairs of eyes, golden and blue glazed at the girl in green clothes.
"I-I… well…I was asking Sokka if h-he could…" Ty Woo stammered.
Azula cut her off, "Yeah, I heard…The thing is Ty Woo…" she took a step forward, "...he is already showing me around… So, why don't you find someone else to do it? Or are you suggesting, he should just dump me and go with you?" she said menacingly while basking at putting Ty Lee's sibling in an uncomfortable situation.
The girl's eyes widened. "Ohh, no Princess! I will never…" Ty Woo said nervously.
The Princess and Ty Woo had never been available to get along, they hated each other guts, and they knew it. When they were little, Ty Woo was always the one making Ty Lee cry and feel bad, which ended in hours and hours of Azula and Mai trying to make her friend feel better.
One time, many, many years ago, Ty Woo even cut Ty Lee's hair while she was sleeping. The next day at the Academy, when Ty Lee told the Princess at the lunch break, what had happened the previous night, Azula went after Ty Woo and got her hair on fire, which ended up in her having to cut it even shorter than Ty Lee's.
Of course, Fire Lady Ursa scolded the Princess for her actions, but yet, her mother said she was proud of her for defending her friends.
Still, that didn't save her for being grounded for a week. Back then Azula had been nine, and Ty Woo ten.
"Run along then…" the Princess waved her hand to dismiss her.
Ty Woo bowed awkwardly. "I will see you around," she said to Sokka, and then she bowed to the Princess. "Princess Azula." said bitterly.
If looks could kill. The Princess thought.
Both watched her leave and mingle in the crowd.
"Come on." Azula dragged Sokka by the shirt in the opposite direction and grabbed the bag again.
Sokka who had been dumbstruck watching both girls gulped before asking. "What was…." Sokka was cut off by Azula who stuffed a full taiyaki in his mouth.
"All of them are annoying… even Ty Lee, sometimes. But that one, is the most of them all," said the Princess, "And I hate her guts. Ty Lee was miserable most of our childhood, because of her," she explained, "And I'm ninety-nine percent sure, she was one of the main reasons, why Ty Lee joined a circus." she retorted.
"Ty Lee joined a circus?" Sokka asked, but before he could get an answer from the Princess, all the lights flicked at the Capital, announcing the soon start of the Moon Festival.
"It looks like the lights are about to go off," he said while eating his taiyaki. "There is somewhere we can get a better look? The tall buildings will not let us appreciate the night sky," he asked Azula.
"Can you climb?" she raised an eyebrow with a smirk, and he nodded. "Come on."
...
"Whoa... This is what I was talking about!." he exclaimed amazed when Azula dragged him to one of the Palace roofs. "How do you…?"
"Watch your step, some of the tiles might be loose…" she warned him, "I used to do a lot of exploring when I was younger," she explained while walking over the roof tiles. "And sometimes while playing hide and seek with Mai and Ty Lee I will come here and hide."
"I bet you always won," Sokka smirked, while she took a seat in the middle off the roof.
"Yeap."
"Nice...See? You do use to do something fun when you were younger. Hide and seek is fun." he sat next to her in the roof.
"Hide and seek is not fun… " Azula snorted, "Overall when they can't find you, which was most of the time," she took a look at the inside of the bag and took a taiyaki. "They will get tired of looking for me, and I will get bored of waiting, so, eventually I will end up wandering around the hundreds of secrets passageways for hours. Call it, innate curiosity."
"Innate curiosity?" Sokka buffed and moved closer to her as she extended him the bag. "More like a little brat who likes it to get in trouble. Weren't you a normal kid?" Sokka mocked while taking a bite of his dessert in the shape of a little fish.
"What?" she looked at him affronted, "I was a normal kid!"
He snickered a little, "Well... If you would have been a normal child, you wouldn't have hidden in places like this, for starters," he joked, "Or wandered around secrets passageways while playing with their friends to hide and seek."
The Princess scowled, "Are you calling me abnormal?" she took a hand to her chest to pretend to feel insulted. "That's it! You are not getting more taiyaki." Azula snatched the bag from him before he could take another taiyaki.
Sokka's mouth opened in an O shape. "What?" Azula stuck out her tongue towards him and took another one off the bag and proceeded to eat it. "Oh, come on…" she shook her head, "Just one more… don't be mean… I'm going to start rambling stupid stuff to annoy you if you don't give me another one…" he leaned to try and snatch the bag from her.
Azula pushed him slightly to get him away. "Tsk!…" she rolled her eyes, "Fine…" she stuffed in his mouth another one. "Happy?... " Sokka nodded vigorously, "Spirits, you're like a child...a very fat child," she muttered.
"It's not fat, it's muscles" He squealed.
Azula rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure…" she tossed the bag at him. "Fatty."
"Meanie."
At that moment, all the lights were out in the Fire Nation Capital, and the city was submerged in gloom. They could hear the crowd in the streets grow amazed.
All the stars in the night sky tinkled and the moon reflected its light. The shine of the little dots in the dark sky glittered like never before. It was a spectacle the Fire Nation citizen had never enjoyed before.
"This is the first time, I get to see the night sky like this," Azula said when she dragged her knees to her chest and place her elbows on them. A soft smile in her face. "We have never had the entire city like this before."
Sokka leaned back with his hands and stretched his legs. "Back home, we do get to do this quite often…and whenever we are far from home for too long, we just look at the sky and pretend we are there."
"You miss your home a lot when you are traveling?" Azula glanced at him.
Sokka notices the Princess glance on him. "For sure… I mean, I love seeing places, meeting people, exploring, and traveling is part of who am I, you know?... But also being away from home, sometimes... makes you value little things, like... My gran-gran cooking, or my bed, sometimes even the freaking cold weather…" Azula snickered and returned to look at the night sky. "You know, you never got to tell me what place you will visit if you could…." he sat straight, and now it was his turn to glance at her.
Azula did the same. "Well… there is one place, I would love to… one of my father's friends, an Admiral, told me about it," she said, "When he was younger, he got lost in a desert in the Earth Kingdom… and he found this amazing place…" Sokka tilted his head thoughtful at every word. "You know what? Never mind, you might think is ridiculous…" she shook her head slightly.
"What?... No, now I really want to know…" he insisted, "Come on Azula...Just tell me…" he pushed her playfully.
"You promise not to laugh?" he nodded, "It's kind of dumb actually…" she admitted, "I have spent my entire life, locked in a library, reading books about these amazing places and… the place I will first like to visit is… another library," Sokka raised his eyebrow. "See?... I told you it was dumb."
"No… no, I mean… I just, you don't seem like that kind of girl… I thought you will choose something more like… Some thermal waters or Ba Sing Se or something like that." Said Sokka.
"Well, I'm not the typical kind of girl." Azula shrugged.
"Yeah…" he said with a side smile. "... and I like that," Sokka admitted, "And I hope you don't think, I'm the typical kind of guy, neither."
"Oh…I know that…" she smiled, "If you were, you would have never slapped my hand the first time we meet… " Azula said, "Or tossed me into a fountain…" Sokka scratched the back of his neck while laughing a little nervously. "Or… challenge me to a Pai Sho game… You are the first guy I have to meet in a long time with actual brains, or the guts to stay around me two consecutive days, willingly."
"I know. I'm also amazed about it," Sokka teased and then scowled. "So… Then, should I assume the guys around you are not too bright or brave, right?" he asked.
Azula shook her head and took a deep breath. "Let's see, the first guy who courted me, was more interested in his muscles and my father, than anything else… The second one was a total jerk who looks at women as if we were below him, the next one was a total womanizer who was courting three girls at the time, including me, and... many more like that."
"Crap…" said Sokka biting a new taiyaki.
"Yeah...That's one of the reasons why I keep refusing to meet guys, every single one is just as bad as the previous one…" she rolled her eyes annoyed.
"Including me?" he teased.
"Oh, no…" Azula made a pause before continuing with a smirk. "You're the worst one yet. " she joked and both smiled, "No, but seriously, from all the guy I have ever meet... I think you are the best one…" Sokka smiled softly at the compliment, "It's not much of a compliment if you consider the other guys…" she shrugged a little bit, "But. I will have to give you extra points…"
"Why?" he questioned.
"Because you are not trying to court me." said the Princess.
"Oh yeah… no kidding," he said.
That old woman must be going senile. She thought. "That's a relieve."
Sokka kept silent for a moment. Was he not trying to? Had he not been kind of unconsciously flirting? He thought, "From all the girls I have meet… You're the worst one yet," he teased, Azula nodded in agreement saying nothing. "What? Aren't you going to deny it?"
She shrugged, "Why would I?" Sokka raised an eyebrow confused. "I mean… I know who am I,... I have a short temper, I'm way too sarcastic for most people. At my age, I'm more intelligent than a lot of people which, people tend to find annoying... I'm short and small yet, I'm stronger than a lot of men, I'm too bossy and…"
"And all those qualities, are what I find more interesting about you." he cut her off, with a little subtle blush that was barely noticeable.
Azula smiled softly, "I'm flattered," she mocked, and reached for another taiyaki but, was surprised by finding the bag empty. "Hey!... You fat swallow, you ate all of them?" She asked shocked, turning the bag upside down and Sokka laughed loudly. "It's not funny…" she punches him in the back of the neck.
"Hey! I only ate my three!" he complained, "I ate them here, right next to you!"
"And the one at the market?" Azula squealed, "That's four, you fatso!" she raised four fingers in front of his face.
"Noo!..." he said and started to make memory counting with his fingers. "The syrup one, the honey, custard and…." he face-palmed himself.
"I hate you, fatso," she pouted like a little girl, and crossed her arms, and looked away. "I wanted another one…"
Sokka rolled his eyes at her childish gesture. "Come on... " he raised himself and extended his hand to help her raise too. "I will get you many more."
"No." she slapped his hand annoyed, "I don't want to." she stuck her tongue out.
"Oww… You are so cute when you act like a little girl." he mocked and pinched one of her cheeks.
"Ouch…" she complained, and that made him laugh, "Tsk!. Ushhh… This boy... You're unbelievable…" she narrowed her eyes before snorting. "Fine… But tomorrow the food is on you…" she took his hand and raised.
And just like if the spirits had planned it, Azula set foot in a loose tile which made her lost her balance. But Sokka's reflexes were faster and he got to hold her before falling.
Both sets of eyes meet closely.
"Are you...okay?" Sokka asked.
Azula let go of him rapidly. "Yeah…" she recovered her posture. "I ...I told you some tiles were loose…" she said with a hit of nervousness and took a step back. "We should…"
"Yeah… Totally…"
OMA AND SHU DAY
DAY 3
The Oma and Shu Festival was gonna be held in the evening. So everyone had the big part of the day free to wander around the city or just to be lazy.
"I seriously can't believe the Earth Kingdom has a festive for girls to pray for a good husband," Azula said amazed by the fact while sitting in one of the sofas in the library, leaning her back in one of the arms rests.
"Yeah, well I think they have different priorities than you," said Sokka. "What was it again? World domination?" he mocked while taking a look at one of the scrolls she leaned him. They had been in the library for a few hours now.
"Haha…" she made a grin, "It's just ...I find it unavailable. Just to imagining me, as some wife or just dedicated to making babies...It gives me goosebumps." Azula said.
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to be a mom?" he asked curiously, glazing at her at the other end of the sofa.
"I do. I mean… maybe… No." she admitted and Sokka narrowed his eyes while looking at her, "I mean…right now? No...but in the future, like… really in the future, maybe… I don't know...It's just kids... " she rubbed both of her temples. "... are a lot of work, and patience, which I don't know if I have." she explained, "But, just to be clear, I will never, ever pray for a husband. I mean, if I ever get married it's because I want to, not because I'm going to pray to some good for some husband."
Sokka nodded, "Agree. But as for the children part...If you can bear with me the entire month, you can bear any little brat you might have." he comments.
"Are you saying that because you are like a child?" she mocked, "A very annoying one?" said Azula.
He rolled his eyes. "Says the one who sticks out her tongue to me every time she can."
"Tsk!" she kicked him slightly with the tip of her foot. "I could always throw you small light bolts." she raised an eyebrow smirking.
"Yeah… I will stick to the first option. I value my well-being, thank you" he returned to the scroll.
"And you?... Do you want to be a father?" she asked reaching for a pocky from the tea table and leaving aside her scroll.
Sokka glanced at her and putting away from the scroll too, and also reached for one pocky himself. "Well, yeah…I always pictured myself as a father, but I mean, of course also in the future… There are things I want to do first…"
"Like?" she asked curiously.
"Well," he raised his eyebrows with a smirk, "For starters Princess, to be a father is required to have a baby, and for that one, you need to… " he joked.
"Oh fuck off…" Sokka laughed at her grin, "I don't need to have a chat with you about babies and sex. With the one had many years ago about the importance of being pure and a virgin till marriage, it was more than enough for a lifetime, thank you very much." Azula rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
Sokka laughed throwing his head back.
"The things are… First, I want to meet a girl, and travel the world with her, visit places, eat all kinds of food, spend time alone, just the two of us, to really get to know each other, or just till I get to know for sure she is the one… The one I want to spend my life with," he said, "You know, my parents knew each other all their lives before dating, and till this date, they are still really in love with each other."
"That's' nice… " she smiled taking another pocky. "My parent's marriage was arranged. They also knew each other since they were kids. My great-grandfather Sozin and my great-grandfather Roku were…"
Sokka mouth widened. "Wait… like in Avatar Roku? The avatar before Aang?" he asked inquisitively.
"Yeah," said Azula, "Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin, friended their entire life, they grow up together."
"Really?"
Azula nodded, "Yeah…For many years the families tried to unite as one. But it wasn't until they arranged my parent's marriage, -something quite common in the Fire Nation nobility- that it finally happen," she leaned her back in the armrest, and Sokka did the same. "Good thing my parents got along well, and in the end, they did fell in love with each other," she shrugged, "I guess that's why they are so insisting in arranging me a marriage because it worked for them."
"Well, the fact it worked for them, doesn't mean it will work for you," said Sokka.
"I know," she sighed, "So...What after you find this girl and travel the world? Would you marry her or will you go directly to business?" she sneered.
"I will ask her to marry me of course, and then… We will get to it," he said a little derisive.
"Sokka," Azula said after a moment of silence.
"Huh?"
"I-If… you don't mind, can I ask you something?" she inquired a little prying.
"Shoot." Sokka nodded.
"Zuko said, you and Suki dated." he was astounded by her words, he certainly wasn't expecting that question, but nodded. "Why it didn't work? I mean, between you two..." she said inquisitively, "She seems like a nice girl."
Sokka placed a hand on his chin. "Well… You could say there were a lot of facts… It was mostly like a teenage crush, it wasn't too serious, and then the distance, the constant traveling for me, and her. In three years, we saw each other 2 times and … I don't know, it just simply didn't feel right you now?... And I think we both realized we work better as friends."
"So… Zuko and her dating is not super awkward?" she raised an eyebrow.
"No...no at all. And the more I see them together, the more I realize they are perfect for each other." he smiled.
"Yeah, well...Zuko is a grumpy, gloomy, an idiot, but I'm happy he found someone to make him happy...She seems cool," said Azula as she sighed. "And also, the most time she spends with him, the less he will bother me."
Both remained in silence for a while.
The Princess started to play a little with her bangs, wandering her eyes around the room. Azula could not avoid thinking again in the words of the old woman from the day before. What could have possibly had happened to make her think that? Was the woman truly senile as Azula wanted to believe?
She had to admit, that seeing Ty Woo so close and flirty to Sokka, really pissed her off. But, it was because it was Ty Woo of all people? Or because of something else?
Sokka looked steadily at her with a side smile. He had to recognize the Princess was beautiful, maybe the most beautiful girl he had ever meet. He also had to admit that Azula was different from almost every girl he had ever known.
She was incredibly smart, fun to be around, as sarcastic as he was, and the last few days he had enjoyed her company, and their chats. They could talk about the silliest thing one second, and the next one they could discuss a complicated subject. Their moments of silence weren't awkward.
Sokka was relieved, that from all the possible people he could think of being stuck during all this month of festivals, Azula was the one he was stuck with.
He looked at her playing with her bangs and pouting. He thought she looked gorgeous, without mattering what face she was doing.
It took Azula a few moments to notice his intense glance, and it made her feel a little awkward when she realized.
Azula glanced at him, "What are you thinking?" she asked him for being analyzing her so deeply.
He side smiled. "I was thinking..."
"About?"
A soft smile appeared in his face. "About us…"
Her eyes widened, "US?" What the hell?
Sokka straightened his back. "Yeah, I mean… Not even three days ago, I would have never thought that… You and I will be …."
Azula relaxed. "Having a civil conversation?" she raised an eyebrow smirking.
"Spending time together willingly," he said.
"Neither did I," she admitted, "You're kind of good company." she teased.
"Kind of….?" Sokka took one of the cushions and throw it at her playfully. Azula snickered, "Just when I was thinking we make the best combination possible because we are so different from each other." he crossed his arms shaking his head.
Azula grimaced and shrugged still snickering. "True; I'm always right and you're always wrong," she smirked.
"That's not…."
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
Both turned their head towards the door.
"Come in," Azula said.
A servant peeks out from the door and bowed. "Princess, Fire Lord Ozai send me to let you know everyone is heading out for the Oma and Shu's. It's about to start."
"Good. I will be going in a second. You can leave." The servant bowed again before closing the door. Azula turned again towards Sokka. "What were you saying?"
Sokka shrugged, "I don't know… I forgot." he said scratching the back of his neck, with a little laugh. "Mmm..." he frowned trying to remember. "Wait, I remembered. I was going to say that... I'm glad to be stuck with you for an entire month." Azula's side smiled it was a little touching. "From all the terrible people I could be stuck with, you are the less terrible." he mocked.
She sighed while rolling her eyes. "Same, savage," said Azula bitterly, "Well, we should get going," Both stood up to leave. "I just hope my father doesn't force me to participate in today's activities. Today might be my least favorite festival, ever!" she rubbed between her eyebrows.
"Don't worry, if he does… I will come to the rescue," said Sokka while holding the door for her and letting her walk first.
"Oh, my hero…" she mocked, "But seriously if he does, I'm electrocuting Zuko."
"Why Zuko?" he asked.
"I guess the habit…." she shrugged, "But, you seriously think I can electrocute my father?... The Fire Lord?... Zuko will be easier."
"Good point," he admitted.
A/N:
Kebab: traditional dish in asian cultures. Consist of a skewer of metal or wood, and a few pieces of some types of meat or fish, with or without vegetables.
Taiyaki: traditional japanese dish in the shape of a fish. Some fillings include, cheese, chocolate, cream, syrup.
*Some the festivals are inspired in actual real festivals from different cultures, and some others are totally invented.
OMA&SHU festival: The night of seven festivals and an asian tradition.