The Fire Nation capital was as radiant at night as it was during the day. The gardens of the Fire Palace were alight with the soft glow of moonlight, the various flowers, statues and structures all sparkling under a near full moon.

The avatar found himself perched cross legged on a banister with the world's only 'seeing-eye-lemur' perched upon his shoulder. For the first time in over a century he felt completely at peace. He was broken from his tranquillity as Momo frantically scurried across his shoulders before launching off in to flight, descending to disappear in to the gardens below.

Aang heard footsteps and with a quick sideways glance saw princess Azula approaching. With a whirlwind jump he placed himself next to the approaching princess- animatedly spinning to a halt.

"Princess Azula." The avatar inclined his head and brought his right fist to meet his left palm, his imitation of the Fire Nation greeting.

"Avatar Aang." Azula mimicked the action, ignoring the faux pas of neither one being a student or master of the other.

"Aang is fine. Though I guess it may take a while- Zuko was calling me 'Avatar' for more than a year after learning my name." Aang's face was alight with unending amusement.

Azula's tone was slightly amused, slightly informational. "It is far harder to stay detached when you call someone by a name- they become an individual. Hunters prefer to think of their prey as a thing."

"Oh." Aang was unsure how to take this, it felt important somehow.

Azula stepped up to the balcony and looked over the moonlit gardens of the fire palace, and past them to the unending sea. She continued on conversationally "... so is your birthday today or tomorrow?"

Aang looked over to her with a surprised expression covering his face. "I... tomorrow."

"I assume that pause means you haven't told anyone." Azula replied with her left eyebrow half raised.

"How did you know?" Aang's surprise had quietly shifted towards wariness over the past few seconds.

"I don't suppose you would have any chance to know this, but I am quite an Avatar enthusiast. When I was young I spent days upon days scurrying secretly through the archives, searching for every piece of information we had on the Avatar. There are no official public records of course, except for propaganda about the danger you pose to our great nation- but the palace's archives are quite extensive."

Azula's speech had done nothing to alleviate the confusion that Aang was feeling. All he had gained was a strange unease, and lingering satisfaction at finding such an unexpected fan.

"...But more to the point- I know because it was today, around this time, that Avatar Roku met his end. Reincarnation generally happens instantly with transference choosing a child only hours from term."

"Oh." The mention of his predecessor's death caused a dark weight to settle upon the avatar.

Azula at least tried to act like the pain the Avatar was feeling was uncomfortable for her- turning back towards the landscape.

The princess suddenly heard a solemn cheeriness coming from her side, the outputting feelings that swelled within her were pushed down before they reached her face. "Azula... I'm sorry about your father."

At this point Azula fully turned towards the Avatar, an unreadable expression worn upon her face that was supposed to be consolatory. "Aang- I can no more blame you for my father's death than I could blame a moose-lion for killing an antelope. It is the avatar's role to correct imbalance within the world..." Azula placed her hand upon Aang's shoulder. "Killing is part of your nature- it always has, and always will be."

"Azula- I didn't mean for him to die." Aang choked the words out, filled with a sudden dread.

"Of course not, you're a good hearted soul- anyone can see that. But he is dead, and he would have always been dead regardless of your intentions. The Avatar's purpose is to kill, it's how the world maintains order- you can't blame yourself, and I don't blame you." Azula placed her other hand on the avatar's shoulder, forcing their eyes to stare at one another.

"I'm not a killer, the Avatar exists to create harmony." Aang was visibly shaking, caught in a blinding mix of anger, sadness and vigilant denial.

"And how is harmony created? The Avatar has the power to destroy whole armies, but power is only useful when it is used- an Avatar unwilling to kill may as well have no power at all." At this Azula offered a reassuring smile that actually looked reassuring, but did little to reassure anyone, and was intended to reassure no one.

The princess removed her hands, and glided down the hall. Aang stared after her, silently mourning the peace he believed was now lost to him forever.

An unending grin stretched itself across the Princess' face.

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