"But like you said, adoption may be an option." Honestly I like the concept of adoption too, giving a child who was otherwise given up, a chance at a loving home. "A truth, you have found for yourself depends on your own point of view and your own experience." Exactly, perspective is very important and that's why thousands of people can watch the same show or read the same book and still come up with many different interpretations. "I'm tending to the opposite way, I'm more the logical person, but keeping the emotions in my decisions." A lot of people I talk to seem to favor logic lol. But That's cool with me, I think that what counts is that a person is able to factor in emotion as well when needed. "Sometimes there are such times. Good to hear, that things turned out to be fine again on long term." It makes you savor the kind moments that much more. And thank you!
"Language, foreing or not could be tricky sometimes." Especially over the internet when you can't hear a person's tone of voice. I've done my share of online debating before and I've had people accuse me of being sassy and/or condescending. And it's like, no dude, that's just how I talk, I didn't mean anything by it lol. So like clarification is super important in online chatting. And fighting the urge to jump to conclusions. And of course a language barrier on top of it all complicates matters further. "Bad mixture for a relationship. We'll see, what you have in mind for them." A surprise, I have a surprise in mind for them lol. "Humor can rapidly look forced and cheap, when it's not done right." That's why I have a bit of trouble with it. It can seem lackluster and forced. Honestly it's very easy to make comedy look forced. "It'll depend on my time and my mood." That's fair, you kind of do have to be in a certain mood to produce humor. "The damage is done, but time may heal these wounds." My problem is that I'm not patient lmao.
"WIM is in the studio," More or less lol. "She pushes the band even harder than before and the members recognize it." Yeah, she's a stress worker. When she gets in a mood she becomes a workaholic, not that she wasn't before. "For now they seem to tolerate her moods and have understanding for her, but she has to be careful." Yeah, right now they're being supportive, but people can only tolerate so much. "But it seemed, that picking up this habit again was a unpleasant choice." Probably a good thing. "She keeps herself busy to prevent her mind from wandering," Exactly why she's been working her band so hard. "It the quiet (or in this case, not so quiet) moments in the night, when it's worst. These are the moments, when you starts to question yourself about your life." Lol yeah, Ming and Ghazan gave her a potent remind of what she lost.
"He really had have a little hope, that she would considder his idea." He tried to be optimistic and that's why it hit him so hard when it didn't pay off. "His idea, that Kuriva might have taken advantage out of his own doubts about his suggestions for the band, has not necessarly be an imagination. Kuriva can be manipulative, when it comes to business, but more important, such things can happen, when you work and live together for a longer time." Yes, business-wise Kuvira had taken advantage of him on a few occasions. Her professional relationship with him is quite different than her romantic one. But there is a point where they blend together. "You lern to find the buttons of another person and you learn to get along with some things." Exactly lol. 'Both won't reteat for now, especially Baatar. Not this time." Yes, Baatar is holding his ground this time. "Don't know if it would have been possible to leave only the band." It wouldn't have, at least not in this fic. Had I not gone with the abrupt breakup I would have had him resentfully going along with her plan, they'd slowly fight more and more, and then they'd have broken it off. "At this point of your story ot was an impulse," but yeah his decision was a bit of an impulse one."Nice one again. Keep on banging head and having fun with your stories." Thanks again. :)
They shoot their final music mover and then they are on their way back to the mainland. With luck, they would reach it by the premiere of their first video. Azula sits rigidly on the deck, arms folded over her chest. What if her plan doesn't work? What if she has ruined their image beyond repair and is only making things worse?
"What's wrong?" TyLee asks, she hovers over Azula with a bracelet made of seashells in hand. She holds it out to Azula and is about to speak.
Azula does so first, "not now, TyLee." She is surprised that the comment didn't come out snappish. Regardless of the levelness of her tone, her mood is terribly prickly. "Go by Mai."
TyLee's lower lip quivers and Azula sighs, she motions for her friend to have a seat. "Just...keep it down, alright?"
TyLee nods, pushing it when she quietly slips the bracelet around Azula's wrist and gently pets the back of her hand before setting it back where it had been, in the former princess' lap. A gust of salty air whips at Azula's hair and leaves a bitter, tingling taste on her lips. She never has been fond of ocean spray.
It takes another day to reach the mainland and TyLee fills it by recording bits of their journey on her mini camera. "It's our tour diary!" She declares before having each of them make casual commentary about the boat ride. Azula tries her best not to look extraordinary grumpy in front of the camera, while Zuko is rather unapologetically cranky standing before it. Mai is as stoic as ever and TyLee as cheerful. What a group they are.
At last their ship reaches the docks. There is already a decent crowd gathered. The bodyguards rise, albeit a little resentful at the breaking of their peaceful streak. Azula is going to miss the lax mannerisms of the Ember Island folk.
Azula rises, supposing that it is best to just tear away the bandages and get it over with. Stationed between two burly bodyguards, she makes her way the long ramp, doing her best to avoid the larger puddles that have gathered upon it. Zuko trails behind her followed by Mai and then a skipping and grinning TyLee.
"It's good to be home!" The girl chirps.
Azula wishes she could share the sentiment, but these days she doesn't feel like she has a home. Even if they weren't moving from place to place, she wouldn't have a home. "I wanna lick your abs!" The shout tears her from her thoughts and, for the first time in a long while, she shoots Zuko a sympathetic look. His face is bunched up in a mixture of shock and disgust. The girl who had shouted it is red-faced and fanning herself as Zuko walks by. "I wanna lick abs too!" Calls another. Zuko's face twists even further, only slackening when he realizes that the second shout hadn't been for him. The boy is staring Azula down with just as much longing as the girl ogling Zuko. Azula suppresses a cringe, wishing that she had changed out of her swimwear. A few more remarks and stares, directed at each of them in turn, and they are back on their tour bus.
Azula makes her way to the bathroom and dresses herself for the mainland. She sweeps a brush through her travel tousled locks and invites the rest of her bandmates to follow in suit.
Her music mover is scheduled to premiere the next night. It will bring her one video closer to the risk she has taken. More than enough time for the doubt to creep in, in full. Agni, she should have just let things go instead of over-complicating them with an elaborate scheme. In time they would have forgotten about those kisses, had she given them time to do so.
She peers out the window, the streets seem clear enough. She needs some air, to not be confined to the small space of a boat cabin or a tour bus. She finds herself a long cloak and a pair of sunglasses, trying her best to conceal herself before sneaking off of the bus, leaving behind only a note to say that she went out for a walk and that she'd be back within ten to fifteen minutes.
It drives both Zuko and her management and bodyguard teams crazy when she ventures off on her own. But Agni be damned if she couldn't take care of herself. The air is humid and tinged with a familiar dash of sulfur. She wanders rather aimlessly for a good five minutes before stopping at a food stall. She digs through her personal wallet for a moment, before realizing that she has on her, only the band's funds. She makes a mental note to replace the cash when she gets back to the bus. Stick of roasted meat chunks in hand, she carries on with her walk. She might as well savor being in Fire Nation territory, while she can. In a few weeks she will be whisking she and her bandmates away to the Southern Air Temple.
Azula finds herself a bench beneath a blossoming yoshino cherry tree and takes another chunk of meat, trying to think of the weather, the splendor of the tree she sits under, of the street performer with her handmade harp-of anything but the upcoming premiere of her her second music mover.
Just when her mind gets the better of her and starts flowing in the wrong direction a disheveled looking girl takes a seat next to her. She twiddles her thumbs nervously and brushes a sweep of bushy black curls out of her face. Azula isn't sure if she is frustrated by or thankful for the intrusion. The girl is fidgeting with her fingers again, breathing rather sharply.
"Is there something you'd like to say?" Azula asks.
The girl's breath hitches. "I...well I. I um, well…"
Azula suppresses a judgmental sigh.
"Your band helped me."
Here we go, Azula thinks to herself. She readies herself for another breakup story and mildly detests herself for allowing Zuko enough creative control to write a handful of breakup songs.
But instead the girl uncovers a wrist lined with slashes. "I thought that I was a failure for not having a good relationship with my mother." Azula finds herself going tense. "I was gonna do it...ya know?"
Azula gets her drift.
"But then I was listening to 'Departure', and I decided not to." She declares.
It was one of their first songs, the one she and Zuko had co-written together, freshly banished and more helpless than she had ever been. It was the first time they had really done anything together that wasn't bickering and competing.
"So that song is really important to me." The girl goes on.
To she and Azula both.
"I decided to start a band too!" She perks up. "But it's a pop duo." She pauses. "Can I sing you one of the songs I wrote?"
Truthfully Azula isn't particularly interested, but something in her softens so she tells the girl that she has time to hear one or two. Azula doesn't think that she has ever seen someone beam so brightly. To Azula's surprise the girl's voice isn't dreadful. In fact, she is rather soothing. The lyrics are too peppy for her taste, but the girl's vocal range is rather impressive. She allows the girl a third song and a fourth-watching her delight grow-only cutting her off when she sees a very agitated bodyguard coming her way. "They don't like me wandering off." Azula shrugs in way of a goodbye.
"It's fine." The girl says. "Congrats on S.A.S. Maybe one day I'll get there too!"
"Perhaps, yes." Azula replies as she stands. "Probably." She slips the girl the address of her record label. At the very least, the girl can have an album out, even if it isn't the sort Azula would ever listen to. She supposes she can buy it for TyLee.
"Thank you for listening to me."
Azula nods.
The girl seems to hesitate for a moment before pulling out a twice folded piece of paper. She hands it to Azula. "I don't need that anymore."
Azula peeks at her bodyguard who is growing ever more impatient. She knows that she is one mundane escapade away from the man demanding a raise.
"Thank you so much!" The girl says again.
"It's no big deal. I know talent when I see it."
"Thank you so much." She repeats, tears welling in her eyes. She throws her arms around Azula, making her bodyguard that much more jittery. If for no other reason than to ease his stress, she awkwardly returns the gesture with a half-hug. "For saving my life." She adds.
It isn't until she is back on the tour bus, with the note read in full, that Azula realizes the weight of the girl's thank you. The weight of her parting, 'you save me'. Azula folds the letter back up, surprisingly thankful that she had been stressed enough to wander about.