Avatar Chapter 39
I do not own Avatar: The Last Air Bender
Princess Ty Lee was balanced on the balcony railing of their room atop the command tower, the newly named 'Princess of the Seas' was on its way to the Earth Kingdom. Azula never could think of a name so she had let Ty Lee have that honor, she had never named ship before but the pink Princess thought it was good first try. It was a long trek to their destination, some resort no less, and Azula had decided to use the time to faintly master lightning generation.
She looked as Azula stood still on the deck below, probably trying to clear her mind. Ty Lee could not imagine how Azula did it, she herself could not stop her mind from racing and bouncing from one thought to another every few minutes. It was odd watching Azula generate lightning as her aura had to go from the rainbow of colors Ty Lee was used to seeing to the almost transparent blob that signified peace of mind.
She hoped down and leaned on the railing, Azula had been training everyday they had been at sea and though she was getting better Ty Lee never imagined the prodigy having to struggle with a Fire Bending technique. She worried, Azula did not tolerate failure, especially from herself.
The Crown Princess stood still on ships deck, clearing her mind of everything and anything. Lightning generation was proving to be much harder then she had anticipated, the forms she had mastered in less than a week but the mindset still challenged her. Normal Fire Bending was about passion and emotion so being devoid of them was unfamiliar, furthermore she realized that clearing her mind also meant clearing any thoughts about what she was doing or trying to hit in the first place. She could not think about how she moved, her stance, her target, nothing.
The Princess took a breath and proceeded to tune out all that was around her, the deck, the ship, the water, and her mentors observing her. It was taking far too long she knew but that was what training was for, soon her mind was a blank canvas with only a few blots of color here and there. She supressed her emotions one by one…until a fluffy pink speck appeared. It suddenly began to morph and twist despite her attempts to squash it, instead it took the form of her lovely Ty Lee…dressed in a sheer pink nighty "Oh no, I'm indecent in front of the Princess, I do hope I am not punished for my insolence." The coy vision gave her a wink and put finger to her cute lip, Azula lost her focus and felt her face turn bright red.
"Burn it! Why do you always pop up?" Azula put her hands to her face and dragged them down, trying to dissipate the fierce blush.
"It would appear the Princess has Ty Lee on her mind sister"-
"Indeed, quite an unforeseen obstacle, desire appears to a hindrance to the minds peace."-
"Perhaps this is why our lord and his brother are without steady female companionship."-
"Possible, or maybe experience allows one to manage their carnal needs."
Azula ignored Li and Lo's commentary on her love life and concentrated, she took a deep breath and exhaled "Ty Lee will be up in that tower when I am done, she's not going anywhere."
Her mind began to clear again and even her ghostly lover vanished this time, Azula did not take the time to feel proud as she was already moving her arms in the circular forms. She felt the energies in her body separate and smoothly let them flow, and when they came crashing together she saw the bolt erupt from her outstretched fingers.
"She has overcome her obstacle, for now at least."-
"Her forms are almost perfect, her speed and aim are less so."
Azula grit her teeth, they were right, her hair was a mess, she was stiff and it still took far too long for her, it was amateurish at best. She retook her first position and started again, perfection was her goal, nothing less would suffice.
Up in the tower a worried Princess looked down at Azula, noticing her black stained aura twist upon itself before vanishing all together every time she sent a lightning bolt into the ocean.
Hours later Azula came in, sweaty and spent from her training, and Ty Lee promptly skipped over and through her arms around her, putting on a happy, unworried face. "That's was really cool Zula, you're getting really fast now."
Azula raised an eyebrow "Not by enough, but I appreciate the compliment."
Ty Lee frowned, she could tell Azula was disappointed with herself and it bothered Ty Lee to see her like this.
"You're way too hard on yourself"
Azula shrugged "I have to be hard, people expect great things from me"
"I don't" Ty Lee realized what she had said and tried to correct herself, but Azula laughed.
"Don't look so horrified I know what you meant... thank… you."
Ty Lee sighed in relief and smiled "So, is there anything I can do for you? You're not you when you're all self-doubting."
A small smile appeared on the benders face "Just being you is enough for me tonight."
Ty Lee nodded, she knew what that meant.
That night Ty Lee sat on their bed, Azula was curled up next to her, arms around her waist and head on her lap, she was in a deep sleep.
This did not happen often but some days Azula just… deflated, sometimes it was due to stress, others because of some minor failure she perceived and once in a while her mood just took a dive. To most everyone else she was the same but Ty Lee could tell, even when they were in the academy she could tell Azula was not, well, Azula.
Back then Azula would just find an isolated spot on the grounds and sort through her emotions until someone found her, which was often either her or Mai. Ty Lee hated being alone and even if Azula said otherwise at times she knew her lover hated it to, so whenever Azula got this way Ty Lee was sure to be there for her.
Ty Lee supposed it was telling that Azula would allow herself to be comforted and coddled in such a way, it was actually kind of touching that Azula would allow her this close, even now. Ty Lee hummed a tune and watched Azula's aura smooth out, they would be there soon and the plan required Azula to trick her own family into coming aboard under false pretenses. She liked Zuko and General Iroh but she wondered of Azula felt badly about doing this. "It's not my place I guess, maybe it won't be so bad." Ty Lee sighed, no wonder Azula got so stressed out.