The Golden Wolf Warrior
By: Agent-Ayu
Chapter 1: The Southern Water Tribe
Notes: This was originally part of the prologue, but it felt too long for me to have the Southern Water Tribe in with the flash back.
Disclaimer: Disclaimer from Prologue still applies.
A few days had passed and nearly everyone was on deck trying to spot the Southern Water Tribe.
"Argh! It shouldn't be this hard to find them," Mizuki complained as she lowered her telescope. "We need to find them soon. We're really low on supplies."
"Um… Mizuki. What's that over there?" Azula asked as she looked beyond the bowsprit of the ship.
Mizuki looked over where Azula was looking through her telescope. "Wow, Azula. You have amazing eyesight to spot the village. Helmsman set a course for the village straight ahead. We're going to need to cut off the engines sometime before we hit the shores so we don't accidentally destroy their village."
"Yes, ma'am." The helmsman replied.
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When they finally got close enough to the village, the crew that was on deck could see villagers keeping an eye on them. The men of the village came walking up to the ship, ready to fight if necessary.
"Wait, we are not here to fight!" Mizuki announced. "Please do not attack, hear us out."
"That's hard to believe since you firebenders have attacked our village before." One man argued.
When Azula heard that firebenders were attacking other nations she looked over the deck railing to see the Water Tribe men.
"What? Oh, the Southern Raiders. Are they still attacking?" Mizuki questioned.
"There haven't been any attacks in two weeks until you came."
"We promise we're not here to attack you. We'll surrender and become your prisoners," Mizuki said quickly.
The men of the Water Tribe looked at each other not sure what to do. "Hakoda, should we take them up on that offer?"
The man Azula saw speaking for the Water Tribe group looked up at the ship again. "What's that child doing on the ship?"
Azula knew they were talking about her since she was the only child on the ship. Mizuki looked over at the Fire Nation princess. "She is why we have come to the Southern Water Tribe for help. Let us come down and we will explain everything. No fighting."
The men let them lower the gangplank and step onto the Southern Water Tribe's land officially. "Everyone surrender to the water tribe for Azula's sake." Mizuki order as she got on her knees and place her arms out for the Water Tribe to bind.
Everyone did what they were ordered to do, including Azula. Hakoda looked at Azula and softened a bit.
"We'll only take the adults prisoner, except for you who I presume is the captain." Hakoda said addressing Mizuki.
"Yes, I am the captain."
"Good, you will be explaining the whole thing to us."
The crew had their arms bind behind their backs with rope and all of them were guided to the village. "Bato, you and the other men should take the crew to the south end of the village and try to find some warm clothes so they don't freeze to death. Assuming they are telling the truth we don't want to show cruelty to them. Captain, you and the child come with me." Hakoda ordered.
Mizuki and Azula followed Hakoda further into the village. They were guided to the igloo in the center of village. As they approached the igloo an old woman walked out.
"Hakoda, what are those Fire Nation women doing here?" The old woman asked.
"Mother, can you get Kya please? It's kind of important." Hakoda asked.
Hakoda's mother eyed Mizuki and Azula before entering the igloo again. It only took a few minutes before a younger woman walked out of the igloo.
"Kanna said you needed me for something that involved the Fire Nation." Kya said in a worried voice as she saw Azula and Mizuki.
"Please look after the child. She doesn't need to be involved with what the Fire Nation crew and their captain here are going to discuss about with the council and I." Hakoda asked kindly.
Kya looked at Azula. Azula started looking around at the village. Besides it being far colder than it was in the Fire Nation there were a lot of different things she hadn't seen before.
"Alright, Hakoda. You're right the child does not need to be invol- Spirits! Is that blood on her clothes?" Kya gasped as she knelt down in front of Azula.
Hearing their mother's voice rise, two children stuck their head out from the igloo. They saw their mother checking the pale skinned child in front of them.
"Yes, it is blood, but it's not her blood." Mizuki replied. "Please the sooner I explain the situation the fewer questions there will be."
"Fine. Follow me. Kya, think you can spare some of Katara's clothes for her?" Hakoda asked his wife.
"I'm sure we'll find something. Follow me sweetie. Let's get you warmed up." Kya said gently as she held her hand out for Azula to take.
Azula slowly grabbed Kya's hand and was led into the igloo. "Mommy, who is that girl?" the little water tribe girl asked.
"I don't know her name, honey. What is your name, sweetie?" Kya asked kindly. Having two children of her own, she knew how to talk to them. She understood why Hakoda wanted her to look after the Fire Nation child.
"Azula."
"That's a pretty name. These are my children. My son, Sokka, my daughter, Katara, and I'm Kya." Kya introduced. "Now let's get you out of these bloody clothes. Katara, can you find some of your clothes for her to borrow?"
"Okay, mom." Katara ran over to her chest to find some clothes.
"Sokka, go help your grandmother with dinner, please."
"But-"
"No, buts Sokka." Kya said.
Sokka sighed. "Fine."
"Is there blood anywhere else besides your clothes Azula?" Kya asked.
"No, Mizuki helped wash the blood away some time ago." Azula answered.
Katara came running back with some of her clothes in her arms. "Here they are, mommy."
"That's great honey. Azula, Katara, follow me." The two girls followed Kya behind a curtain away from the fire where Sokka and Kanna were. "Here, I'm going to help you out of your clothes and into some of my daughter's."
It wasn't hard for them to remove Azula's Fire Nation clothes. The hard part was putting all the layers of the Water Tribe clothes on her. "Hopefully you're warmer now than you were when you came here."
"Much warmer." Azula replied while smiling and hugging herself trying to feel the warmth in her arms again. She looked down her anorak, seeing a crescent moon along with a few wavy lines inside a circle.
"That's the symbol of the Water Tribe," Kya answered Azula's silent question. "Katara, do you mind playing with Azula?"
"Sure mommy! C'mon Azula, you have to see our pet Polar Bear Dog!" Katara grabbed Azula's hand and dragged her to the Polar Bear Dog near the fire. "This is our Polar Bear Dog, Koro."
Azula stayed still, looking at the Polar Bear Dog. She didn't know how to react, since the only animals she'd seen in person were the Turtle Ducks near a pond. She couldn't remember which pond it was in the Fire Nation, but she remembered the big tree that hung over the pond as well.
"He's so…" Azula started.
"Koro is so, what Azula?"
"He's so fluffy." Azula said as she blushed.
Katara laughed which caused Azula to blush more. "Haven't you seen furry animals before?"
"No, the only animals I've seen were Turtle Ducks, and they're feathery, not fluffy."
"If you think he's fluffy just by looking at him you should hug him and feel how fluffy he is!" Katara grabbed Azula's hand and dragged the Fire Nation girl close to the Polar Bear Dog.
"Koro, this is Azula. Be nice," Katara ordered the Polar Bear Dog.
Koro opened one of his eyelids to look at Azula. He got up and walked over to the firebender. He sniffed her for a while until he licked the side of Azula's face. Azula was taken slightly aback since she wasn't expecting to be licked. Koro pushed his head into her chest, knocking the girl over.
"Aw, Koro likes you!" Katara exclaimed as Koro laid his head down on Azula's stomach and had his paws on either side of the firebender. "He only lays on top of the people he likes."
Azula just stayed still looking at Koro as he fell asleep on her. "He's so fluffy." She said again.
Kanna just stared at the two girls and the dog, not very amused. She didn't care if the firebender was just a child. After what happened to her friend Hama a little over fifty years ago she couldn't trust anyone from the Fire Nation.
"Gran Gran, when are the stewed sea prunes going to be done?" Sokka asked as his stomach growled.
"Soon, Sokka."
Just as Sokka was about to ask another question Hakoda walked in with Mizuki close behind him. "Kya, let Mizuki and Bato look after the children. I need to talk to you and mother."
"Uh, sure," Kya said as she looked at her husband from around the curtain. She had just finished finding a place to store Azula's Fire Nation clothes away from the other clothes until she could remove the blood.
"Children, follow Mizuki please. Koro, come on get off Azula," Hakoda said as he nudged the Polar Bear Dog off the young firebender.
Katara, Sokka, and Azula quickly followed Mizuki out of the igloo. "Aw man, are we ever going to eat?" Sokka complained.
Azula saw the crew already back on the ship. "Mizuki, are we leaving?" she asked.
"Not exactly, Azula," Mizuki said as she knelt down to Azula's height. "This might be hard for you to understand, especially with what happened two weeks ago."
"What happened two weeks ago? I told you I can't remember anything but a lot of fire, smoke, and the blood that was on my clothes," Azula complained.
"I know, I know, I'm sorry. Azula, I hope someday you can remember what happened. As terrible as it was, it is part of who you are. The crew and I are going to try and find the rest of your family, who we hope are still alive. You're going to stay here in the Southern Water Tribe where it's safe," Mizuki tried explaining.
"If you find them, will you come back for me?" Azula asked.
"I can't promise anything, Azula. I'm not sure if we'll ever find them. I really want to promise you that we will, but I can't bring myself to give you false hope," Mizuki said as she brushed the girl's hair out of her face.
Tears started to build in Azula's eyes. She did the first thing that came to her mind. Azula hugged Mizuki as tightly as she could and cried into the Fire Nation captain's shoulder. Mizuki hugged Azula back just as hard. The two of them had gone through so much in the past two weeks it was heartbreaking for them to part.
"Captain. Here are the swords you requested," One of the female crew members said as she handed the sheathed double broadswords to Mizuki.
"Thank you. Go back to the ship. We'll be leaving shortly," Mizuki ordered before turning back to Azula. "The rest of the crew and I thought it'd be best if you keep these broadswords with you to help you remember the Fire Nation."
The captain carefully handed the swords to her princess. Azula had trouble lifting it up because of the weight. "It's a little heavy right now, but I'm sure in time you'll be able to master using them," Mizuki said with a sad smile before putting the sword's strap around the Azula so the sword rested across the princess' back.
They stared at each other for a while before hugging each other again. When Hakoda, Kya, and Kanna walked out of the igloo, Mizuki let go of her princess and stood up.
"We should be going," Mizuki said to the three Water Tribe adults.
"That would be best," Kanna said bluntly.
Mizuki looked down at the Fire Nation princess. She was speechless, not sure what else to say to the girl. Azula just hugged the captain again. Mizuki returned the hug one last time before parting and walking as fast as she could to the ship to prevent the parting from being any harder than it already was.
Tears poured down Azula's cheeks. Katara reached out and grabbed Azula's hand giving it a tight squeeze while Azula kept on crying. The chief's family stayed outside with Azula until the Fire Nation ship was out of sight.
Kya placed a hand on the firebender's shoulder causing Azula to look up at her. She wiped the tears away with her free hand.
"Let's go inside and get some food in your stomach. That should make you feel better."
Everyone walked back into the igloo where the stewed sea prunes were ready. Katara sat herself down next to Azula, wanting to help the girl as much as possible. Kya smiled at her daughter's gesture.
"Here you go, Sokka. Eat to your heart's content," Hakoda said to his son as he handed a bowl of stewed sea prunes. "Just remember to leave some for the rest of us."
Kya passed bowls to Kanna and Katara before getting a small spoon full of stewed sea prunes for Azula. "I think you should try it first to see how you like it."
The firebender took the spoon and sipped the stew. She felt her stomach turn violently. Kya and Katara couldn't help but smile.
"It's usually not tasty for those who aren't used to it," Kya said. "Here, at least eat a little more of the stew so you can get used to the taste. It's a common dish. Would you like rice?"
She didn't trust herself to open her mouth and risk losing her stomach contents because of the stew, so Azula just nodded.
Kya handed Azula a bowl with rice and stewed sea prunes. "Does anyone else want rice with their stew?" Katara and Hakoda were the only ones who responded. Sokka was too busy trying to set a record for eating the most stewed sea prunes while Kanna simply stared at Azula, waiting for the firebender to bring havoc onto the Water Tribe.
Azula looked at the Water Tribe family as they ate their dinner. This was going to be her home from now on. She hid her smile behind the bowl of her dinner.
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Later that night, after Kya had put all three children to bed, the adults stayed up to further discuss the situation they were in.
"This is very different compared to yesterday. I did not expect to become a guardian to another child close to Katara's age," Kya said softly.
"None of us did," Hakoda said before sipping more stewed sea prunes.
"I can't believe you took the child in or even let the Fire Nation into our village Hakoda. If you father was still alive he wouldn't have allowed that to happen," Kanna pointed out, obviously very upset with her son.
"Mother, you don't understand. When Azula looked down at the other men and I, I could tell that Fire Nation crew was not lying. They were just trying to get that girl to safety. And from what Mizuki said, there is no way someone could make up something like that and show signs of mental trauma." Hakoda justified.
"But how can we be sure they won't attack us later?" Kya asked her husband.
Hakoda pondered the potential future. "I'm going on my instincts here. If what Mizuki said was true we may get more Fire Nation attacks, but it won't be from them. It'll be from their new Fire Lord. I'll gather the men and start a lookout so we can ambush the Fire Nation ships before they even get a chance to come near the village again."
"It's just a bad idea keeping the princess of the Fire Nation here. There will be soldiers after her. Even if the soldiers don't come after her, she might become like them," Kanna argued.
"I won't let that happen." Hakoda said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "She's young and here in the Water Tribe. There might be a chance that she'll learn to be one of us even if she is of Fire Nation birth."
"I wouldn't be surprised if she hates the Fire Nation because they murdered her grandfather, father, and cousin. Also no one knows if her mother, uncle, and brother are still alive. If her mother is alive I can only imagine what it would feel like to not know if one of your children is alive.
"If it was us and Katara was taken to the Fire Nation, I'd hope a family would take her in and try to keep her safe as well. I agree with Hakoda. Azula should stay here. There's nowhere else for her to go that's safe."
Kanna eyed her son and daughter-in-law. "Fine, do what you want, but don't expect me to treat her as another grandchild."
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Three years had gone by since the Imperial Firebenders left Azula with the Southern Water Tribe, in the care of Chief Hakoda and his wife, Kya.
"Come on, Azula there's a huge snow ball fight going on outside with the other kids."
Even after three years, Katara still constantly dragged Azula practically everywhere. Azula wasn't complaining, she just found it funny how she could never keep up with the waterbender. It was only shortly after Azula arrived that she found out Katara was the last waterbender in the South Pole.
Also in the past three years Azula had been training with the Wolf Warriors with Sokka. Since she was about Sokka's height she was a good partner for him to work with. Normally females were not allowed to train with the men. During the training with the Wolf Warriors, Azula learned how to track and fight just like the men. They treated her just like the other boys who were also in training.
After training with the other Wolf Warriors, Hakoda took some personal time to keep an eye on Azula as she practiced using the dual broadswords that the Fire Nation crew had wanted her to keep when they left her. She's been spending most of her time trying to hold the swords up and swinging them in a crasada and reverse crasada motion without losing control. She knew one day she'd be able to use the swords to the best of her ability.
As Azula and Katara walked over to the center circle, Sokka saw them. "Cool, we're on even now. Let's play snow wars!"
"Snow wars?" Azula asked as she looked over at Katara.
"It's Sokka being big meanie. There's usually one prisoner, usually a girl and two teams have to go through a snowball fight to rescue the prisoner. One team protects their fort and the prisoner from the prisoner's team. The prisoner's team is trying to get into the fort and save their prisoner," Katara explained.
"Katara is the prisoner!" Sokka yelled.
"What? No way!" Katara objected.
"All in favor for Katara being the prisoner?" Sokka asked the group.
Everyone except Azula raised their hands. "Well, at least someone appreciates me," Katara mumbled as she walked over Sokka's team so they could guide her to their fort.
"I call Tsukihiro on my team!" Sokka shouted while running after his sister.
"Looks like Azula is on Teruko's team," Tsukihiro said also following Sokka.
Azula just sighed, not understanding why Sokka volunteered his sister to be the prisoner. Teruko had a group circle going on to plan their strategy to save Katara.
"Let's keep three who have good arms to throw from a distance while the rest will go full out on the offense. Who's good at throwing far?" Teruko asked her group.
Everyone looked at each other. "How are we supposed to know?" One girl asked.
Teruko sighed. "Okay, do I have any volunteers who think that can throw far and hit someone?"
Two boys volunteered. Not seeing anyone else planning to volunteer, Azula raised her hand. "Great, get into position," Teruko ordered.
"I have a feeling this is going to end badly, the way how Teruko is organizing this." Azula commented to herself as she got behind the makeshift snow wall.
Once everyone was in position, they waited to see who was going to make the first shot. Some adults stopped what they were doing to see what the kids were up to. It wasn't the first snow war that'd happened with the kids, but this was the first where they weren't immediately chucking snowballs at each other.
"This is annoying." Azula said to the other two boys. She peeked over the snow wall she could see Tsukihiro and a few other boys still waiting for her team to make the wrong move.
Azula grabbed hold of one of the many snowballs behind the wall. "Guys, once I throw the snowball pull me down as fast as you can, got it?"
The two boys nodded. Azula carefully looked over the wall again, if she timed it right, Tsukihiro would stand up and she'd be able to hit him before he could throw his snowball. Sure enough he did. Azula shot up and threw the snowball. The two boys grabbed hold of Azula by the waist and pulled her down quickly.
"Urgh!" Tsukihiro yelled, realizing he's been hit. "I'm out! Everyone, all out war on Teruko's team! No fear!"
Sokka's team ran over the wall starting to charge at Teruko's team just as Tsukihiro left the battlefield, onto the sidelines.
"My team, charge!" Teruko ordered.
The adults laughed seeing how the usual snow war between the children had finally started. Azula stayed on the defenses like she was ordered, pegging members of Sokka's team with every fifth snowball she threw. That was until Teruko retreated and hid behind the wall with Azula and the other two boys.
"Teruko!" All three of them shouted.
"Sorry, we're out numbered!"
Azula looked over the snow wall only to be nearly hit with a snowball herself. She glanced over once again. There were four of her team and six of Sokka's remaining.
"Okay, here's what we're going to do. First we're going to crawl over to the west wall carefully to not get hit. That way if the charge at this wall we won't be here," Azula ordered.
The four of them quickly scurried to the west wall. Just as they made it to the wall Sokka's team attacked. "Now we attack. Boys, take out the members Sokka's team attacking from the south wall. Teruko and I will get Katara. On three."
"Three, Two ONE!" All four kids charged their separate ways.
One of the boys on Teruko's team was hit while the other one hit the two boys on Sokka's team. As Azula and Teruko charged towards the northern wall Sokka and two other boys were left.
"Teruko, go after the boys. Sokka is mine!" Azula dropped to the ground and slid underneath of the moves closer to Sokka.
Both Sokka and Azula held a fighting stance, seeing who was going to make the first move. "You know Sokka, unlike your team my team is pretty merciful. Give up with dignity and you won't have to lose to a girl."
"Argh! Giving up is worse that losing to you!" Sokka tossed his last snowball only to barely miss Azula.
A smirk crossed Azula's face as she threw her last snowball, pegging Sokka right in the face. Before anyone could recover, Azula jumped over Sokka and the snow wall, only to find that Katara was playing with Koro.
"Gee, thanks Katara. I help save you and you're busying playing with Koro," Azula said sarcastically.
"Well, what did you expect me to do while you and everyone else was busy throwing snowballs at each other and I'm stuck being a prisoner?" Katara responded.
"Maybe pay attention to the fight to find weakness in the other players and use it to your advantage!" Azula said loudly.
Katara and Azula continued to argue with each other neither being aware that Sokka was sneaking up on Azula.
"SNEAK ATTA- ARGH!" Sokka shouted before being pegged by nearly every kid with a snowball. "WHY IS EVERYONE ATTACKING ME?"
"SNOWBALL RIOT!" Tsukihiro shouted. Every kid started throwing snowballs at everyone not caring which kid they hit.
Azula quickly pushed Katara down protecting her from the wild snowballs that flew towards them. "You know a proper thank you would be nice as well," Azula continued their argument.
"Okay, fine how about this? My hero!" Katara exclaimed in a very perky tone as she hugged Azula. "For your bravery a kiss on the cheek."
"Alright, we won! Next time Azula you're going to be the- wah!" Teruko tripped and pushed Azula on top of Katara just as Katara was about to kiss Azula's cheek.
"Oops sorry." Teruko apologized. When she looked over at Azula and Katara she blushed.
Teruko had accidentally pushed Azula to kiss Katara on the lips. "Spirits I'm really sorry. Azula, you're the leader next time," Teruko apologized again and ran off to the free for all snowball fight.
Once it registered to Azula and Katara that their lips were touching they quickly pulled away from each other. They were both blushing but couldn't help but smile at each other.
"What are you two smiling about?" Sokka asked. As he climbed over the snow wall covered in a lot of snow.
"Nothing," Both girls replied before running away from Sokka.
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Another three years had gone by before Azula managed to hold the broadswords long enough to go through the many motions necessary to use the swords. Now all she needed to work on was to be able to fight with them. At the age of eleven, Azula had become the youngest participant in the ritual of Ice Dodging.
"The spirits of the water bear witness to these marks. For Tsukihiro, the mark of the wise. For Teruko, the mark of the brave. And for Azula, the mark of the trusted," Tsukihiro, Teruko, and Azula all looked at each other. The three of them now had a bond with each other that couldn't be broken.
By the time the sun had set the whole village was gathered around a huge bonfire in celebration of Tsukihiro's Coming of Age. Azula normally would have sat with Kya, Sokka, and Katara, but today she sat with Teruko and Tsukihiro close to where Chief Hakoda and the Southern Water Tribe councilmen sat.
Once everyone had a little bit to eat Hakoda stood up earning the silence and attention of everyone.
"Today is a special day for another member of our tribe. To Tsukihiro and his crew members in the success of his Ice Dodging Ritual." With that Tsuhikiro, Teruko, and Azula stood up as the village cheered for them.
Tsukihiro's father walked up to the young man and handed his son a wolf warrior's battle uniform.
Hakoda continued after Tsukihiro's father took a seat. "Tsukihiro." Tsukihiro turned his attention to Hakoda with pride. "Should the water tribe go to war, may the spirits help us we do not, you are to come with us to defend your tribe. For this day forward, Tsukihiro is a Wolf Warrior!"
Everyone in the village cheered. Once everyone calmed down Hakoda spoke up again. "Not only is this a celebration for Tsukihiro, it is a celebration for Azula as well."
Hearing what Hakoda said shocked everyone. "Azula." Azula walked up to Hakoda like Tsukihiro had done seconds before her.
"You are of Fire Nation birth. You were brought here six years ago and in those six years you have grown up with us and learned about our traditions and customs. Today you helped Tsukihiro with his Ice Dodging Ritual by controlling the jib. You received the mark of the trusted, and that makes you a member of our tribe. If you want, the Southern Water Tribe can be your home."
Everyone continued to stay quiet, not sure what to say. It was uncommon for someone outside the water tribe to be declared a member. Azula thought carefully of what had just been announced to the whole tribe.
"I am honored to be considered a member of the tribe now. When I first came here I didn't know how to express myself to anyone. So much has happened to me and even though I have no memory of it, I do know that thanks to the patience and kindness I received here in the past six years I've always felt comfort here and can't imagine anywhere else as my home. Thank you, Chief Hakoda," Azula finished her speech by bowing to Hakoda.
Azula sat back down next to Teruko as Hakoda continued his announcements. "One more thing for this celebration. Tonight we also celebrate the Winter Solstice. Happy Solstice everyone!"
"Happy Solstice!" Everyone cheered before going back to eating and celebrating the three special occasions.
For some reason Azula's eyes were drawn to Katara. For a long moment Azula simply stared at her, admiring the image as fire and moonlight played across her skin. Suddenly Katara looked over at Azula and gave the firebender a warm smile. Azula blushed and continued eating her food to keep herself from staring at Katara again.
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One year later Fire Nation ships were sighted in Southern Water Tribe waters. Even though the Fire Nation wasn't attacking any villages all the men thought to play it safe and ambush the ships before setting out to the Earth Kingdom to help end the war.
All the men, including Tsukihiro, were packed and getting ready to leave when Sokka came walking up to one of the boats struggling to carry his sleeping bag and gear. Azula was closely following her training partner with sympathy in her eyes, knowing that Sokka would not be able to join the rest of the men.
Hakoda saw the two approaching. "Sokka."
"I'm coming with you," Sokka claimed.
Hakoda sighed, knowing what he was about to say was going to hurt his son. "You're not old enough to go to war, Sokka, you know that."
"I'm strong! I'm brave! I can fight! Please, Dad!" he pleaded.
"Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most, and for you right now that's here protecting your sister." Hakoda explained while placing his hand on Sokka's shoulder.
Azula was able to tell from Sokka's voice that he was on the verge of tears. "I don't understand," Sokka said weakly.
"Someday you will," Hakoda said.
With that Sokka dropped his gear and hugged his father. "I'm going to miss you so much," Hakoda finished as he returned Sokka's hug.
Once they parted Sokka picked up his gear and started to walk quickly back to the village.
"Azula."
"Yes, chief?"
Hakoda couldn't help but smile. "You know you don't have to call me "Chief", you can just call me "Hakoda"."
"Yes, I know, but it would feel awkward if I did, especially since I lived with you and your family since I came here," Azula said truthfully while avoiding eye contact with Hakoda.
"Understandable. I have a favor to ask you. Please look after Sokka and help him look after the village. This is probably going to be hard on him. You and I both know how much he wants to go."
"I will chief." Azula said as she bowed. "Um… would there ever be a chance for Sokka and I to help fight?"
"Maybe for Sokka, but Azula I hope you will never have to. I know we bent the rules and allowed you to train with the rest of the men, but I don't want you getting hurt. I don't have a definite answer for you. I'm sorry," Hakoda said honestly.
"I understand, Chief Hakoda," Azula bowed once more and went to find Sokka.
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Later that night everyone in the village gathered around the shore holding lanterns and watching the men leave the Southern Water Tribe to go off to war.
"This isn't fair. We stayed out of the war for so long," Katara protested quietly as she held her brother close.
"What's not fair is that I'm not going too," Sokka said sadly.
Azula placed her hand on Sokka's shoulder. "You'll get your chance. It just wasn't time for us to go."
Once the boats were out of sight everyone began walking back to the village. Azula, Katara, and Sokka all walked quietly back to their igloo with Kanna and Kya following closely behind them.
"Alright, off to bed all three of you," Kanna said as they entered the igloo.
"Yes, Gran Gran."
It didn't take long for all three of them to prepare for bed and under the covers of the many fur blankets. Sokka fell asleep immediately. Azula was close to falling asleep when Katara woke her up.
"Hey, Azula," Katara said quietly not trying to wake anyone else in the igloo.
"Yeah."
"Do you think the Avatar will ever return?"
Azula opened her eyes and looked at the igloo ceiling. "I don't know Katara. This war has been going on for nearly a hundred years. You would think the Avatar would have done something to stop the war by now. We know that the Avatar should have been born into the Air Nomads one hundred years ago, but they were wiped out. And if the Air Nomad Avatar were killed when the other Air Nomads were, a Water Tribe Avatar would have been born.
"Unless the Fire Nation had killed the Water Tribe Avatar within the last hundred years the Avatar would start off as an Earthbender. And if the Fire Nation did kill the Earth Kingdom Avatar the cycle has no where else to go without the Air Nomads," Azula speculated.
"So, that means you don't think the Avatar will return," Katara whispered bitterly.
"I didn't say that nor did I imply it I just speculated on a possible reason to why the Avatar hasn't helped stop the war yet. There's also the possibility that the Avatar hasn't shown himself is because he hasn't mastered Airbending," Azula defended.
"The Avatar will return, and will know how to airbend. He or she has to." Katara finished before turning over telling Azula their conversation was done.
"If the Avatar does return knowing how to airbend, I'll teach you how to kick Sokka's butt the warrior's way so he has something to sulk about," Azula promised before turning over in her sleeping bag as well.
"That would be great. I'll hold you to it."
The two of them didn't know that two years from that day Azula would have to go through with that promise.