Author's Disclaimer: I don't own a thing belonging to "Avatar: The last Airbender!" Nada damn thing.
Author's notes: Are you guys reading for what's next? Cause I don't think I am! We got a lot going on…..wait for it!
Maraghoul: For helping shape the story, my thanks.
QueenTyzula: Nudges are appreciated and shared likewise :P Thanks, Queen T!
Harley Quinn Davidson: Your question will be answered hopefully soon :P
Hypothetisch: Thanks for the kind words! Stay tuned to find out :P
CharlieBarrow: Thanks for the ideas.
"Stoking the Fire"
Chapter sixty-seven "Confrontations"
"I wouldn't chance it, Ursa. Azula's companion has gone into heat two days ago," Iroh said. Ursa looked haggard and worried, ever since the fool young lord had admitted he had upset the princess. Her companion's friends had taken her away and all four women had barred themselves off in a chamber on the third floor of the manor. Only one of the Kyoshi Warriors left for meals, but it wasn't like they could deny her access to food for all of them. So Iroh had let them be.
"So, what does that mean? Azula is stuck in there with her," Ursa worried. Iroh raised an eyebrow and gave her a rueful smile.
"Well, we had our own days of seclusion as well. Ow!" he yelped playfully when Ursa smacked his broad shoulder. Iroh gently took her hand and massaged her fingers to calm her. Ursa gave a sigh.
"I just want the best for her. Is a heat really going to help things?" she worried. Iroh shrugged.
"I can't say. But Lady Ty Lee DID ask us to help Azula in the end. We can only hope she has her best interests at heart. I'd say she does though. Why do you think I allowed her to take Azula here ahead of us?" Iroh asked. Ursa sighed.
"You always know how to calm a situation," she said ruefully. Iroh kissed the back of her hand.
"I try." Iroh wondered how long their blissful days would last. Nephew and husband hovered overhead, threatening to end their joining. He sighed to himself.
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"Scuse us…..pardon us…." Ying muttered. She and Tsung chose to sidle out of the narrow hallway, shielding their eyes with their hands, so they could make a break for the washroom. Their small bedroom had a chamber pot and a window which was rather gross after a long period of seclusion. Plus, they wanted to bathe. It was going on day three and both felt like a soak.
Azula and Ty Lee had been sleeping the sleep of the overly exhausted and both slit an eye open at the blushing women running for the washroom door. Azula rolled over and pressed her cheek into the mattress. Her arm went over Ty Lee's waist. Ty Lee cuddled closer and yawned. The two fell to languid mental waves, their bodies humming in close synchronicity that was familiar and still utterly new. Ty Lee's heat was tapering down, and wound down to a pleasant hum of energy.
The kisses Ty Lee placed along Azula's shoulder were affectionate; with her chi reduced to a simmering dull ember, she could relax and enjoy the moment without feeling like she'd die without the alpha inside her. She smiled when Azula rolled toward her, golden eyes fluttering open. Their joining when Azula had still been blinded had been fun in its own handsy way, but Ty Lee couldn't deny how glad she was to know Azula's dancing pupils were focused on her.
"Hi," Ty Lee murmured. Azula's lips quirked upward in a rare smile.
"Did you sleep well?" The question was perfunctory, but Azula's hands gently stroking her torso, looking for any hurts she may have inflicted in her passion, touched Ty Lee. "Hmm, this is deep..." Her splayed fingers stopped at a bite mark along Ty Lee's hip where she'd bitten a bit too hard. In no way was it a mating mark, so the bruise would freshly heal. Ty Lee wriggled in Azula's grip, round breasts bobbing.
"Well, you were excited," Ty Lee said wryly. Her dark eyes shone with joy. Azula's heart skipped a beat, knowing she was the cause of that moment of joy. She smiled another rare smile without her usual smirk in place.
"And are you less excited now?" Azula deliberately sniffed the omega. Her heat had tapered off. If it were still anywhere in place, it was the tail end of the surging pheromones. Ty Lee hummed with a with a well-satiated aura, naked and pale beside her. Azula ran a hand along her flat belly and side idly.
Ty Lee lifted her head as the sound of water running through pipes in the washroom. "Looks like we'll have to wait for our bath…."
"Well, I certainly made a mess of us both." Azula did smirk this time, lounging back, folding her arms behind her head. She couldn't help preening as Ty Lee's eyes roamed up and down her lithe musculature. Her shift had tapered off as well, her privates soft and open to the omega's gaze. Azula knew it wouldn't take much on Ty Lee's part to get her shift to spring to shape again if she really did want another romp. She would relish it. Azula purred as Ty Lee cuddled close, head on her breast. Azula inhaled; Ty Lee's aura tinged with traces of sweat still smelled sweet to her.
Ty Lee's fingers played along Azula's side. She couldn't help thinking of her as "her alpha." Azula had knotted her, and it had been rather intimate. But she had still restrained herself from attempting a mating bite. While their relationship, shaky as it were, was still undefined, Ty Lee would have taken a hint at what all this could mean. "Azula?"
"Hmm." Azula grunted. Ty Lee leaned up to sweetly kiss her. She smiled when Azula kissed her back softly. She did show soft moments with her that gave her pause to hope. "What is it?"
"When all is said and done…. would you want to keep your chambers…with me?" Okay, more sex was just that, but being close together could mean the door was open to something more.
Azula's eyes trained on the ceiling, her fingers running through loose strands of Ty Lee's hair. She nodded to herself. "If you're so inclined." She made her words imperious, but her heart was thundering in her breast. Ty Lee could hear it beneath her ear. She kissed the curve of Azula's breast tenderly. She knew she'd spoken right though, when Ty Lee giggled against her.
After a time, Ying and Tsung piled out of the washroom, wrapped in bathrobes and carrying their clothes.
"Hi," Ying said sheepishly. An inhale told her Ty Lee's whirling chi was ground down to a satiated halt. She smiled cheekily at the naked pair. The sheets had been kicked off the bed and the two were keeping each other warm in lieu of finding the missing covers. "It's all yours. And congrats."
Azula blinked at her words. Ty Lee sat up, stretching.
"Bath time," she grinned. The Kyoshi Warriors sidled through the narrow hall to their room to give them further privacy. Azula sat up, long hair disheveled. She slid an arm around Ty Lee's waist, ready to support her weight if she couldn't walk. The two stumbled to the washroom. Azula was amused her legs were so blown; it really was all Ty Lee's fault.
Azula pumped the water herself from the washroom's water tank, and firebended the temperature. She picked up Ty Lee and gently deposited her into the tub. Ty Lee leaned back, sighing as the hot water seeped into her sore muscles. Azula stepped in and hissed happily at the water's heat. She leaned back. Their knees touched in the middle.
Azula regarded the naked omega opposite her, long hair drenched from her dunk. She knew she looked as disheveled and sat up to offer the soap to her companion. Ty Lee took the soap and a sponge, lathering it up. She began washing herself, then gestured to Azula.
"I'll wash you," Ty Lee said. A blush was on her cheeks. Azula smiled. She knelt up so Ty Lee could start at her shoulders and upper torso. She then stood in the water, letting Ty Lee's hands go around her thighs and calves, scrubbing soap all over. When she was done, Azula returned the favor, brows lowered in concentration. Her touch was surprisingly soft. Before she could retreat inside herself further, Ty Lee leaned to kiss her. Their tongues stroked slowly as they knelt in the warm water.
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After dinner, the four women relaxed in the open room, watching clouds steal across the starry night sky. Ying leaned against Tsung and Ty Lee was between Azula's legs, leaning back against her torso. One of Azula's hands lay coolly but possessively over her side, keeping her in place. Ying caught Ty Lee's eye and winked. Ty Lee shrugged, but found she liked being held in place this firmly. Her alpha would cover her protection over her, never mind if she could protect herself. There was something oddly encouraging about that primal gesture.
"Well, we're gonna call it a night. Good night," Tsung said. She picked up her girlfriend over one shoulder, taking her from the scene of comfort for her own alone time. Ying's giggles filled the air as they left. Ty Lee shifted against Azula's torso. Her fingers trailed up and down the warm flesh of Azula's bare arm.
"Azula, there's something I need to ask you," Ty Lee said. Azula blinked curiously down at her. She leaned back against the stone wall, letting Ty Lee shift in her arms to meet her eyes. She merely raised an eyebrow and waited. Sometimes her omega could talk on and on, but lately her words struck home more often than not. She had a feeling this was one of those times. "Your mother is here. Are you ever going to see her?"
Azula's mood fell, and equally, her curious expression deflated to a look of irritable anger. She pursed her lips, looking aside. "See her? I think I've seen enough."
Her curt words would have made any noble or servant cower, but Ty Lee merely pressed on. Their pairing during her heat led her with one foot in the door. Ty Lee tried to press it open carefully in her mind's eye. She sat on Azula's lap, cradling her jaw in both hands. Azula scowled, but the taut edges of her brows lifted upward at the gentle stroking. She sighed. "I don't want to," she grumbled.
"I know," Ty Lee said. She pumped out soothing pheromones with her chi and watched Azula shudder. She pressed kisses along her face and lips gently. "But you can do anything. You're the strongest alpha I've ever seen, and the only one that could satisfy me." A wry smile cocked Ty Lee's lip. "Remember? So tight and hot…. Only you could tame my heat."
Azula would have laughed at such words before, but her body DID remember. Her cock shifted into being, and surged up against the lap of her trousers as her mind went over each thrust, each position, each screaming orgasm. She grinned, relaxing slightly. The depth of Ty Lee's words sank into her brain and her alpha pride roared with delight. Did that mean she had satisfied Ty Lee more than Zuzu did?
'Well no wonder she ran away from him,' her inner alpha agreed. Pats on the back all around. Azula grinned madly.
"So, you're saying since I could fuck you into submission that I should be able to face her. Smooth, Ty," she agreed. Ty Lee smiled, glad her non-subtle attempts of stroking Azula's alpha ego was going as she had intended.
"And I think I put you into submission myself…" Ty Lee purred against her ear. Azula shuddered as she licked her earlobe. Her hands ran along Ty Lee's back and down to her ass.
"Are you asking for a rematch?" she growled. Ty Lee giggled. Her arms twined around Azula's neck.
"Yes. But I think you should face your mother sooner than later. I know you can do it." Azula hadn't mentioned to her about her deep-seated sense of abandonment when Ursa had left, but Ty Lee could only hazard a guess to her alpha's hurt. It was old and clung to her in ways that hadn't left. Azula squared her shoulders.
"The strongest can do anything," Azula drawled. "Fine, Ty. Fine…."
Despite her somewhat curt words, Ty Lee knew she would do as she said. And everything would turn out. Somehow….. As Ty Lee cuddled her alpha, feeling Azula's arms circle her waist warmly, she hoped she wasn't miscalculating.
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Azula paced back and forth. Even with her vision back, the edges of her eyes grew fuzzy. Azula blinked and scrubbed a wrist across her face, noting the stress her body was warped in. Ty Lee gently touched her hand, and halted her movements. They were outside the safety of the chamber they'd spent her heat in and Ying had delivered a message to Lady Ursa and Lord Iroh, calling for a meeting.
Azula was covering it up, but Ty Lee knew she was nervous. Every paced step, bite of her lip, and frown on her face bespoke a body in turmoil. She squeezed her princess's fingers gently.
"It'll be okay. I'll be right out here." Ty Lee had been worried when Azula asked to go in alone. She wanted to be there with her alpha. But she knew Azula was strong. She would get herself through this, no matter how much it hurt her mind. Ty Lee fervently hoped when Azula returned to her, she wouldn't be completely withdrawn into her head.
Azula gave a hopeful smile that tinged with a mad look of hurt in her eyes. "Thank you, Ty Lee…"
Ty Lee stood on tiptoes and took the chance to kiss her cheek softly. Azula was savoring the soft touch when they heard footsteps down the hall. They both cringed, but an awkward look only revealed Lord Iroh, Lord Takumi in tow. Azula's gaze darkened.
Lord Takumi bowed low in front of her, and made to brush her sleeve off. He tripped over his feet when Azula looked him in the eye and grasped his wrist sharply. A ripple of self-satisfaction lined her chi and Ty Lee had to grin as her confidence grew.
"M-my apologies, princess!" Takumi yelped. He looked downright terrified that she could see. Azula trailed a fingertip behind one of her long bangs. Her topknot was in impeccable and her appearance was well kept. She looked every bit her old confident self, but Ty Lee hoped Takumi wouldn't notice or comment on her whirling chi that indicated a scared mind.
"Not accepted," Azula sniffed at him. New footsteps shuffled closer and Azula's spine straightened. She turned, and Ty Lee wanted to touch her arm, to steady and offer her comfort. But she held back. Azula had to face her demons alone. "You."
Azula was angered with herself for almost addressing her mother by title if nothing else. She had fallen back on 'you' at the last moment. Her mother looked the same, long black hair, elegant robes. The lines around her eyes and mouth had deepened, adding years to her visage. Lady Ursa had been smiling hopefully, but her face had fallen. Iroh wanted to touch her hand and lend her strength, but he knew she could handle this. He stood opposite Ty Lee, noticing how their chi had intermingled and joined from her heat. Iroh raised an eyebrow in thought, regarding Zuko's past concubine.
"Azula….shall we?" she gestured to the sitting room opposite. Azula turned to the open doorway. Never had two arm chairs and a table looked so uninviting. She forced herself to stride through the door and waited, staring blankly. Ursa flashed a nervous smile to Iroh and followed her daughter. When the door was shut, Ty Lee exhaled loudly. She wanted to assure Iroh, but a stray servant down the hall caught her eye.
Zirin locked eyes with her and Ty Lee tensed. Her hands clenched into fists and she was satisfied to note the Kemurikage kept her distance. Both women kept their gazes locked, however.
"I'll….be right back," Ty Lee muttered to Lord Iroh. She bobbed a bow and took off at a fast clip. Tsung was with Ying, so she had to handle this alone. Her adrenaline rose; she was ready if it came to a fight. She would protect Azula.
Iroh watched Ty Lee take off. Odd girl, but he could see why his nephew had been infatuated with her.
As Takumi babbled beside him, Iroh raised two fingers for silence. He was pleased that the young man desperately wanted his approval, and shut up immediately. He was so worried for Ursa's sense of mind, and her heart. He readied to enter should a bad situation erupt. He knew he could handle Azula. But what would Azula do this time?
Iroh had to wait and see.
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Ursa sat on the edge of the arm chair, smiling sadly to her second child. Azula perched on the edge of her chair, back straight and hands on her knees. She regarded her mother as one regarded a half-eaten meal. How much more could she stand?
"You wanted to see me?" Ursa couldn't keep the hope from her voice. Azula swallowed. Every shouted word at her in her youth from her mother made a bead of sweat roll down her spine. She pursed her red lips together.
"I had to. Someone thought it should help." Azula looked away. "I don't think anything will, though. You're here and there, helping Zuzu and your new brat."
Ursa swallowed. "Her name is Kiyi. She's your little sister…."
Azula flashed hard golden eyes to her. "I met her. Peasant halfling. Don't give her ideas she'll inherit after Zuzu."
Ursa sighed inwardly. When Kiyi used that nickname, it sounded endearing. Azula always made it sound a curse against her brother.
"What about you? You…." Ursa swallowed. Azula looked tensed and she didn't want her to flee already. But she HAD attempted a coup. It couldn't be ignored forever. "Tried to reach out," she ended lamely. "Ty Lee wanted you brought here to help you. You look in pain; what can I do to help?"
Azula rose to her feet, fists shaking. She turned and paced back and forth, longing to rush to the door and fling it open. She wanted to flee, she wanted to be alone with the comfort her companion gave her, and she wanted to be done with uncomfortable scenarios forever. Ty Lee…. Focusing on her oemga's smile gave Azula the courage to stick it out. She had promised she would. And she WAS the ultimate alpha. She could face anything.
Azula whirled, golden gaze slightly wide and mad-capped. "You got out when you could. Bravo. You couldn't spare any chance for me there."
'There with him.' She didn't need to say it out loud, but Ozai hovered between them as palpable as smoke. Ursa swallowed, feeling the old dread about her first husband suffocate her.
"I apologized to Zuko….but it's a long way in coming. I'm sorry I left you, Azula. I wanted to be there for you…for you both. He made me leave," Ursa said. She hated the last statement sounded like an excuse, but it WAS the truth.
Azula stared at her. The old hurt clawed inside her chest and her stomach felt hollow. Her legs quaked, and she wanted to sit down and hug her knees. The urge to weep also surfaced, frightening Azula utterly. She was strong, she couldn't break down in front of anyone. Not her father, not her brother, not any of the soldiers and certainly not her mother, that mole-rat of a despised person! She was no true mother, except to those who she thought deserved it….
Azula turned, hand splayed across her breast, trying to reign in her thunderous heart rate. "Wouldn't have made a difference….would it?"
"I believe it would have," Ursa said softly. Azula turned angry eyes toward her. Ursa's tired eyes met hers.
"Wouldn't have mattered….to me." Azula ground out. She clenched her fingers into a fist and paced away. "You've done your part overseeing me here. You'll rush back to Zuzu and tell him, huh."
"Zuko doesn't know where you are," Ursa said gently. "I promise you…."
Azula's shoulders tensed. Her neck was so stiff, she wasn't sure if she could turn it. She hissed a sigh. "Well I couldn't stop you if you wanted to blab to him."
"Where are you going, Azula?" Ursa asked. Azula was horrified and irritated to hear pain in her voice. Azula paused and flung a hard look over her shoulder.
"Away from you."
As she stormed out, Ursa looked down at her hands. They were shaking in her lap. When Iroh darted in quickly, he was dismayed to see her crying. Leaning down, he gently hugged her.
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Ty Lee rounded the corner, chasing after the bright color of the servant's tunic ahead. She had kept her sights on Zirin so her rounding and running was no surprise and she had taken off at full speed after.
When the omega rounded into a servant's supply room at the end of the hall, she ducked the chair thrown at her. Ducking into a ball, Ty Lee rolled neatly aside, and back flipped up, fists at the ready. Zirin's clenched fists streamed fire and she glared at her.
"So. You're done cornering Azula?" she demanded. Ty Lee walked to the side, fists held at the ready.
"You can't have her, Zirin. She's finding peace. Please." Ty Lee's eyes grew wide with concern. She pleaded with the woman with her gaze. Zirin felt herself waver, but she had to stay true to the course.
"I'll ask her to come with me. If she chooses you, I'll do whatever the princess asks of me. But if she says one word different…we're gone. And you nor Zuko can stop us."
"Zirin! Just leave it all behind you!" Ty Lee pleaded. Zirin darted to the hall and Ty Lee dashed after all. When was she so fast? When she got to the hallway, Ty Lee gaped and turned to and fro. Zirin was gone just like the Kemurikage she had once impersonated. Ty Lee cursed and turned to dart down one hall, stopped and hastened in the opposite direction.
She didn't even know where to start! Ty Lee was feeling panic creeping in and the sensation made her dizzy. Taking a deep breath, Ty Lee took off searching.
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Azula pushed out to the hallway. Takumi was waiting, sniveling thing, and he brightened at the sight of her. Azula's fists clenched. It took everything not to punch him in the guy as she stalked past.
Azula was startled to note Ty Lee wasn't in their new chambers. In fact, Tsung and Ying were also missing. Trying not to panic, the princess searched the nearby rooms and filed out into the large sitting rooms of the first floor of the manor. She was starting to get a dull migraine from the worry she was feeling. Was Ty Lee gone? Did she go?... No, she wouldn't. They hadn't talked about it, but she wouldn't leave her. Would she?
Her footsteps hastened and Azula was now running from room to room. She happened upon startled servants and perhaps a few of Takumi's relatives, but she didn't care. When Azula rounded a corner and saw the familiar face of Ying, she could have collapsed with relief. Ty Lee wouldn't leave without her friends.
'But she could take her friends and leave anyway….'
Azula shook her head violently to clear the bad thought away.
"Ying!"
Ying smiled at her. "Princess. What is it? Are you looking for Ty?"
Azula nodded, frantic worry in her eyes. "Yes. Where is she?"
"I don't know…come on."
The two women moved quickly from room to room. They found Tsung and dragged her on. Tsung hissed at Takumi when he resurfaced in a sitting room. Azula's wild eyes darted quickly. When they happened upon Ty Lee on the first floor, the relief was so palpable that Azula's legs went to water and she almost fell to her knees.
"I was looking for you…. how did it….Azula?"
For the quiet princess had stalked forward and clasped her arms around the omega, holding onto her. Ty Lee's hands smoothed up Azula's back and she was startled to feel her slightly trembling. Ying cleared her throat.
"See, found her alright. Come on, princess, let's get out of this room."
"That would be satisfactory." Azula's voice was smooth, but her aura jagged chaotically, and stress still made her body jump at small intervals. Ty Lee carefully held her hand and the walk back to their chambers was fast.
Tsung and Ying knew when to bow out and all too soon Ty Lee sat Azula on the stone bench in the open room beyond the bedchamber. Azula's hands were still shaking. Her wild eyes softened, and Ty Lee was just as startled at Azula's abrupt descent of chi movement. Her aura had been a wild thing, intent on finding her, now that she was in her presence, she was so relieved she was utterly still inside and out.
Ty Lee dared to touch Azula's chin. She lifted her countenance to meet hers and she was shocked to see the trembling extended to Azula's golden eyes. She looked so sad and lost. Maybe she wasn't ready…. Maybe Ty Lee had pushed her too hard to see her mother again.
"I…." before Ty Lee could apologize for pushing Azula to Ursa, the alpha shifted closer. She leaned down, and laid her cheek against Ty Lee's breast. Her arms clasped her back tightly, and for an instant, the wind was knocked from Ty Lee's sternum. She hugged her carefully, trying not to muss her topknot. Azula was showing a great amount of trust in her own way and she moved slowly. For one, she didn't want to spook her. Azula had sought HER comfort. And another…she wanted to Azula to relax.
"It was terrible," was all Azula would say. Ty Lee knew it was good to drop the subject. If Lady Ursa was going anywhere, they'd know it.
"It's okay…..you still did it." Ty Lee gave a hopeful smile when Azula's cheek smushed against her breast and she glanced up at her. Azula rubbed her cheek against the roundness of the breast encased in firm cloth. Her hands held the omega's waist firmly.
For the moment at least, all was well.
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"We're here, Fire Lord. At last." The driver drew up the reigns and the chicken horses halted on the large gravel drive. Zuko kicked open the carriage door and hopped down, cloak streaming. His hard gaze settled on the estate carved out of the mountainside. The manor was aptly named. But at the moment, Fire Lord Zuko didn't care.
Suki climbed out quickly after him, and signaled to the Kyoshi Warriors to hurry. They flanked the two as they rushed up the driveway to the manor's wide front doors.
A young lord in elegant robes dashed up to the entryway, balked, and immediately kowtowed on his knees, noting the royal topknot ornament in Zuko's hair. "Fire Lord Zuko!"
Zuko stepped past him, eyes sweeping the hallways. His body tensed, as he felt for Azula's chi. "You have guests under your roof that belong to me. Where are they?"
End for now
End notes: Bum bum BUM! Like it, smash that button and do that review thing. Stay strong, my lovelies!
Sincerely yours, pen
11/17/2017