AUTHOR'S NOTES—Azula returns. There have been comments and reviews regarding Azula and what I should do with her. I've approved of many of them, and something else or another, yaddey yaddey blah blah blah, something about orange juice, and anyways, Azula's still a bit off in the head (though we don't see much of that in this episode or chapter) but there is much more to her than that. In this chapter we get to see a few of Azula's feelings—actual feelings. You know, like, emotions and stuff.
And inevitably, shipping—since most fans will take whatever they can get. Sokka's quite the ladies' man, isn't he? *wink*
AVATAR: THE LAST FIREBENDER
BOOK 1: WATER
CHAPTER 6-4: IMPRISONED, PART 4
Earth Kingdom mining rig village, right before the gang's operation
The gang was all in their respective positions, waiting for Sokka's signal. However, here was where they hit a setback. And Air Warrior landed in front of them, and Aang recognized her right away.
"Azula?" he exclaimed, and Azula smirked.
"Charmed, Avatar." She cooed, "But one must ask what you are doing in a place like this? Did these Air Warriors capture you?"
"More like trapped us," Aang shrugged, whipping out his staff, "but I don't want to hear your words—I know I can't trust them."
"Then you know well," Azula smiled sweetly, and then she noticed Sokka, "but I didn't know you needed a lackey to come with you on the road. I would have thought that Toph and Zuzu would have been enough."
Both Aang and Sokka held back a laugh.
"Zuzu," Aang snorted,
"Aye, Zuzu," Azula shrugged, "so, what'll it be, Avatar?"
"I just have a couple of things I'd like to ask you, if you don't mind," Sokka stepped forward.
"Oh," Azula raised an eyebrow, "this should be good. Surely you don't think that just because you can knock random guard numbers 15 and 16 out of the sky with your weapons means you can also do the same to me, do you?"
"Well," Sokka smirked, "I might've thought that, but that would have had to be before I saw you. Now that I have, I really cannot see a reason why I would want to do that."
"I'm glad to see that gaining your cooperation is easier than jumping out of bed," Azula remarked, but Sokka interrupted her and continued.
"I suppose the only tragic part of the matter is that someone so beautiful wishes to waste her time killing an everyday warrior like myself. I see little need for you to join this fray and get blood all over that pretty face and all smattered in that lovely hair."
"Sokka, what the heck are you doing?" Aang whispered through his teeth, but Sokka held his hand out to silence him.
To Aang's surprise, a tinge of pink appeared on Azula's cheeks.
"I," she stammered, "I don't know whether to have you tortured or to just kill you myself."
Sokka seemed to be buying time, but this had not been part of the plan. Granted, meeting Azula had not been part of the plan either, and so Sokka was playing a different card.
All this time Sokka was buying wound up getting Zuko, Kyla, and Toph curious as to what was keeping him. They eventually wandered in behind him and saw who he was facing, and so they stopped a ways away, skeptically staring.
"Well," Sokka repeated, "like I have said: there is no reason to get flustered about a simple compliment. I suppose it is possible for someone who has never been complimented in such a way like that before, but I figure that with such striking beauty such as your own, that this would definitely not apply to you. Surely you have had streams of compliments from other more attractive and more talented men, and so hearing it from someone such as myself is nothing new to you."
"What are you trying to get from me?" Azula snapped, "I don't even know you, let alone like you."
"Ah, but your blushing tells a completely different story, my dear," Sokka cooed, "While I am not saying that it indicates that you are madly in love with me, for example, it does show that you are indeed flattered. Again, I am unsure why you would be so flattered by remarks you probably hear hundreds of times every day, but I suppose that is one of your mysteries to be kept to yourself. I am in no position to ask you about them."
Zuko's jaw was hanging agape. He was not bothered by Sokka flirting with his sister as much as he was that Sokka was able to keep her talking instead of attacking. Her red face was also a sight he had never seen, and he definitely had a few things he would demand to know from Sokka if they got out of this mess all in one piece.
"My secrets are my own," Azula snapped defensively, swinging her staff towards Sokka, who jumped back before it could connect with him. To his surprise, she did not attack him again.
"My dear lady, now you are confusing me," Sokka sighed, "you attack me and then you don't, you seem to enjoy hearing my words but you wish to kill me. If there is something you want from me, all you have to do is ask—you are in the position to bargain, not me."
"GET OUT OF HERE!" she roared in her frustration, "YOU AND ALL OF YOUR CREEPY LITTLE FRIENDS!"
"Thank you, my lady." Sokka smiled, and as he walked by, he lightly pecked her on the cheek. Azula stood motionless as Kyla, Aang, Zuko, Sokka, and Toph all hauled it outside the village. A little ways out they found Appa and Momo, who were grazing with a few other sky bison. Appa recognized his master easily enough, however, and so there was no guessing game involved here as they all got on and flew off. Toph and Kyla were laughing hysterically, (Kyla's eyes were watering), Sokka simply smirked, and Aang and Zuko looked spetically at him.
"Why were you flirting with my sister?" Zuko exclaimed,
"Well," Sokka stammered, "I didn't know she was your sister, but I was mostly trying to get her to call off her attack on us, or, as you saw, scare the hell out of her. I don't know how she thinks, but she's clearly not used to that sort of praise. So, I continued to give it to her until she freaked out. If you want me away from your sister though, just give the word."
"No, honestly I could care less," Zuko shrugged, "I was mostly wondering how you did it."
"Well, a little of it was honesty." Sokka confessed, "now that I know you don't care, I'll let you know your sister is kinda pretty. It was a lot easier to pretend to flirt with someone that wasn't hard on the eyes as opposed to some ugly mug, you know?"
"Well, it worked," Toph shrugged, "though I didn't get to see if your boomerang really does return."
"I was hoping you'd ask that," Sokka grinned and he instantly whipped something out and threw it back behind them as they flew. It fell and disappeared into the abyss of and beneath them.
"So you're a fraud." Toph scoffed
"Nope," Sokka grinned, pulling out his real boomerang, "that was joke. That was just a random stick. THIS is my real boomerang."
He threw it out behind them again, and true to his word, it came right back.
"So do you want to come with us," Aang offered, "we're heading up to the Northern Water Tribe for starts, but since I'm the Avatar, I'm going to have to eventually also find an earthbending teacher and a firebending teacher."
"Well," Sokka replied, "I was originally going to try and find my sister, but I have no leads. I suppose I can go with you guys, especially if you're coming back to the Earth Kingdom afterwards."
"Welcome aboard then," Aang smiled, "we're glad to have you."
"How about you, Kyla?" Sokka asked her,
"I think I'll hop off at the next trading port we stop at," she replied, "I've got a few things I need to do that you all probably don't need to get involved with."
"What kind of things?" Aang wondered,
"mostly political garbage," Kyla shrugged, "since my father is one of the leaders of the tribes, see, that also throws some responsibility onto my own head."
"Ah. Got it. Well, you're welcome to travel with us for as long as you need to."
"Thanks," Kyla smiled, "it's good to know that at least one flying bison is not in the hands of the Air Warriors in times like these."
Appa gave a grunt of approval, and continued flying the group (Momo included) northwards, slightly in favor of the setting sun.