A/N: Now personally, I thought there was some nice symmetry in that last chapter with Sokka and Ty Lee's first encounter together. Perhaps Sokka was merely thinking of it as payback. And perhaps it may have occurred to him that he doesn't want to die a virgin. Well, not if fanfic has anything to say about it. But wait, I think I want to torture him some more myself.

Disclaimer: Well of course I don't own these characters or their universe. I just plays with them to suit my fancy, and respect all property rights held by others. Y'all can just back off now…

Chapter 6

Mai was taking an inventory of her weapons. That last battle had seriously depleted her stores, and while the ship's armory carried a good supply of various styles of throwing knives, the reality was that this was a firebender ship. And that meant there was no guarantee as to the quality of the weaponry on board. Firebenders were notoriously dismissive of non-benders' tools.

Although they are certainly quick enough to take advantage of any advances in technology that allow them to export their hegemony, she thought to herself.

Not, of course, that this was a problem as far as she was concerned. Her family had risen in the Fire Nation court on its ability to ride the flames with carefully placed words, astute judgments as to – donations – offered, and loyalties sealed. Far be it for her to tip the balance one way or another.

And, of course, Mai was herself drawn to the flame. She remembered having wavered between twin sets of amber light, head and heart in contention. And then the symmetry of one had been forever destroyed, a clear signal to follow her head's dictates.

A pity her heart still favored a syncopated beat.

But it was time to put in another order for her preferred, particularly well-balanced kunai and sundry darts, the ones made only in the Fire Nation capitol. It would take time for the shipment to arrive, but that is why it made sense to place the order while she still had several pieces for each individual sheath. She wrote out the order, and set it with other material waiting for Azula's seal.

As she carefully put the brush aside, she considered briefly how her counterpart was likely to be spending this time. Somehow, she doubted if Ty Lee's antics with the Water Tribesman would yield anything terribly productive. It did, however, keep the girl out of her way. Which meant that Mai would be able to devote some time to meditation exercises.

Mai found herself requiring such exercises more and more these days. No doubt it was the return to following in the turbulent wake of her school friend.

She caught herself with a mental shake – what on earth was she doing using a water metaphor in her thinking of the Fire Princess?

Azula had banished everyone from the stern deck area behind the command tower. It was not that she feared observation of any errors in her kata – there would be none. Nor did she concern herself over the potential hazards to her crew as she unleashed her famous cold blue flame or even more deadly lightning. Any such casualties were easily dismissed since their loss would be attributable to carelessness on their part – not hers – and thus good riddance. Personnel was, ultimately, expendable. While generally she had a fine appreciation for resources and good management, Azula had yet to meet anyone besides her father who was in fact indispensable to her. And someday – perhaps not too far in the future – even his time would come.

It wasn't that Azula didn't love her father. Ozai was her sun, her idol, her perfect example. The perfect scholar, the quintessential fire-bender, the inspiring leader. He was all she aspired to be. And yet, he too had made mistakes. He had allowed sentiment and tradition to keep Zuko his heir for too long, had even failed to eliminate him when the fool and his weakness were finally exhibited to all. Ozai had failed to see the real danger in not assassinating his own brother when he took the throne; Iroh was and always would be a threat.

Well, Azula was not so foolish. And if it was necessary – he just might make it necessary, of course - to eliminate her father when the time was right, then it was merely a matter of fire refining itself into perfection.

No, she had cleared the deck of all others because she wanted this time to be truly free of interruption while she considered her plans for subduing or, if necessary, destroying the Avatar. She wanted to do so while she worked through her exercises; she wanted the physical motions to be married to her goals and ambitions, to implant in her muscle memory all her aspirations. A trick she had taught herself at a very young age, it had an admitted tendency to falter if she could not maintain perfect attention.

Azula insisted on being perfect.

Sokka now lay somewhat sprawled across his cell floor, near the bench from which he had fallen when Ty Lee had flown at him with her paralyzing chi attacks. He had hardly even attempted any defense, fully aware that with the firebender guard outside the door he stood no chance anyway. Now he could barely move his head, and the rest of his body was completely numb; he thought one of his hands may be resting on the fallen lunch bowl and its detritus, but he could not swear to it. Maybe later.

In hindsight, he reflected that perhaps her response was perfectly predictable. On the other hand, it had been so worth it! And it wasn't as if he'd had a lot of time to plan things out!

Sokka was shy on experience, but long on research; with Yue's passing he had taken every spare moment to avail himself of writings and drawings regarding romance and the art of love – the Earth Kingdom was well-stocked indeed on such 'treatises' (he'd have loved to tarry longer on what he had stumbled upon in the buried library, but some things time had simply not allowed. And what that non-human knowledge spirit couldn't miss surely wouldn't hurt him, he considered guiltily, remembering a couple of purloined items). Sokka's father had impressed upon him the value of being prepared. Given his own tribe's tradition was largely oral, and spirits knew Sokka was well versed in every tell and lay, he had to admit that a single picture was definitely worth a thousand words.

She had, after all, asked him to kiss her. Why shouldn't he take advantage of such an opportunity to explore some of what he had absorbed with a girl whose good opinion he didn't give a damn for? And Ty Lee had… crumbled! He swore she had whimpered in his arms, and the only question was how to interpret that whimper.

It was, of course, reasonable to assume, given his paralyzed state and her storming off out the door, that she was in fact totally pissed off.

Sokka smiled. He'd been pissing girls off since his sister was born, and he'd yet to find many pleasures that exceeded it. When the girl he annoyed was a hated enemy? Paradise! Although, come to think of it, there was much to be said for the actual sensations experienced during the act of said annoying. Sensations that reminded him of kissing Yue, or Suki… and why he'd done all that research in the first place.

Ty Lee was just this bit shy of being giddy. She would not hesitate to admit that it had taken longer than expected to get her breath back after the Water Tribe boy's shocking response to her invitation to kiss her. Shocking in its thoroughness, its immediate assumption of command and lack of any hesitancy or faltering – after all, she would have sworn he was an innocent novice from his earlier floundering and embarrassed avoidance of her advances…

But! As he had thrust his searching tongue within her willing mouth Ty Lee had fought to control her own desperate delight. Too much too soon! Of course, she had been taught the Water Tribes were degenerate, inferior even. So her interest in him was purely aesthetic – he was such a nice, handsome example of his tribe – but no doubt he was also weak. She knew he had been feeling angry and trapped, but she had no idea that men of the Water Tribes had such fight in them. And that he would lash out like that when given the opportunity…!

Ah no, it was not what she had predicted – it was so much better! Subservience and supplication were fun and certainly satisfying, and how very pretty it would have been coming from that surly, mocking mouth. But arrogant dominating passion in the face of hopeless odds was incredibly romantic and endlessly suggestive. Ty Lee considered herself something of a connoisseur. If he could do this, well! What more was he capable of?

Of course it had been necessary to subdue him afterwards. He was a prisoner, after all. It certainly wouldn't do to have him think she could be won so easily. She couldn't, of course. And, she thought with some guilt, belatedly, she hadn't managed to get him to talk of the Avatar at all. Azula would not be pleased.

Ty Lee put a finger to her bruised lips and smiled. Poor Azula.

"I swear, I've been with the Princess since she left the capitol – well, you can't count that stint with her just traveling with those two freaky girls. They're as crazy as she is – nobody heard me say that, now. Anyway, she's got this kid out on the deck in front of her, and she's doing the imperial rag at him that, I swear, it has had grown men quaking in their boots.

Hell, she's killed men over under-cooked fish! So anyway, this kid goes all 'fuck you, lady' at her and we all think, that's it, he's for the ash heap. And she doesn't kill him.

Damn it, I'd have heated his fuckin' bath water myself, and given him my uniform to dry off on, just for the sight of that vein throbbing on her forehead and not seeing her blast him! I don't know what he's got going for him, but hell, more power to him."

It was a tiny group of Fire Nation soldiers gathered over the brazier that night, and not one hesitated to raise a flask in agreement.

It was interesting.

How many times now had she blocked his chi, paralyzing him and relieving him of all feeling below his neck? Two, maybe three times now? And Sokka was ready to swear that each time he recovered just a little bit quicker. It was like that stupid giant mole-thing's venom, something to which the body could adapt. Sokka filed this information away as he absently licked sauce off his fingers from the dropped bowl. He'd be able to stand as soon as he could shake off that tingling feeling now running through his legs.

He spent an evil moment wondering if one reason Ty Lee had fled after paralyzing him was her knowledge that, as a result, he was impervious to any further blandishments she might offer.

And then he kicked himself for assuming that maybe her interest in him had survived his forceful assault on her. He thought he was wise enough in the ways of the female mind to know that any such assumption was sheer madness.

So, instead, he tried to consider what other options he might have for escape.

"Please, I'm sure I've heard this before. 'He's soo cute, so very manly, I thought I'd die, and then, ohhh, when the moment came…'"

Mai showed an uncanny skill at parody that Ty Lee did not appreciate. The girl's affect was generally so flat, after all. Who could have imagined it?

Azula, on the other hand, smirked. So Ty Lee had lost no time in returning to the prisoner's cell, intent on exploiting her permission to dally with him to her heart's content. And returned with no more than, apparently, a kiss. And with that, Ty Lee was practically doing flips in ecstasy. A kiss! Surely the girl was too experienced to anticipate so much from so little.

Then again, Ty Lee was experienced. For all Mai's teasing, the other girl did not, actually, regale them with orations on her lovers' charms very much anymore. It did occur to Azula to wonder if there was something unique to the Water Tribe… or, perhaps, this member of it?

At the same time, Mai was right: Ty Lee's gushing was tedious to listen to. There were only so many times you could listen to her speculate on the prisoner's, erm, potential attributes. She was half tempted to share with Ty Lee her healer's initial, very thorough report on the general physical condition and health of this particular captive, taken when he was still unconscious. Except that instead of shutting up, the silly girl would probably have been inspired to suggest new rhapsodies.

However, if this foolish prattle would yield useful information she was prepared to indulge her friend. And Ty Lee did, on occasion, pick up the most interesting information. In school, for example, Ty Lee's discovery of a liaison between the head-mistress and one of Fire Lord Ozai's most trusted generals had resulted in Azula gaining access to both advanced instruction on forbidden firebending techniques and the general's communiqués before they went to her father. Useful, indeed. And all thanks to the indiscretions of said general's closest aide during an act of what Princess Azula couldn't help but consider striking generosity on Ty Lee's part (she had said she enjoyed it and had no complaints about closets at all. Azula did not question her friend too closely on this).

"Dearest Ty Lee. How very interesting. Perhaps I should – verify – your speculations for myself. You don't think he might be trying to take advantage of you, do you? I mean, you're so sweet. Such a soft touch."

"Easy, you mean," Mai muttered, under her breath.