A/N: Okay, nothing raunchy yet. Call me a tease, I don't care. There is something of a plot at work here, and I'm as bound by it as anything else. Remember, this story is an exploration of four personalities working against/with each other. Fun times, fun times.

Disclaimer: No claims, no rights, no worries. No point litigating. Are we clear?

Chapter 19

"Enough, Brat," Sokka released Ty Lee's hands as he gently pushed her away from him. "I'm guessing Sparky's got enough to show I'm well in tow. And frankly, I don't much care for this 'performance-on-command' routine you've got playing." He sniffed in disdain even as he knew his prior actions had already bound him, one way or another, to the Fire Nation girl.

Ty Lee attempted to snuggle up against him, but he held her off, deliberately ignoring, this time, her deadly hands. She was honor-bound to disable him and, within seconds, he lay defenseless upon the deck. He sighed as she knelt beside him.

"You knew I'd do that, didn't you?" she mused. "You really shouldn't be so stubborn about this, you know. What if I decide you're not worth the trouble you're causing me?"

"I guess that's the point," he countered with a smile, glad that this time he'd actually let his muscles go slack slightly before she hit his pressure points, allowing him to slide down the wall to end in a slightly less humiliating position than his previous sprawls. "What is it worth to me to meet you half-way, Brat? I admit, you make me crazy here, but it's not like I don't know what that's like anyway, and it's not enough to make me stupid."

He paused. She looked askance at him.

"C'mon, I thought we had a deal. You can't tell me I'm up here in the fresh air now because of you. No, Princess Perfection got some wild hair up her butt to drag me up here at sunrise – you had nothing to do with it." He smiled that lazy, cocky smile that made her tummy do flips and the rebellious strain in her soul giggle. "Your call, Brat. What's it worth to you?"

Ty Lee raised her arm and the fire-bender guard, who'd been watching this altercation from his position by the trebuchet, completely frozen for several minutes, stepped forward awkwardly.

Ty Lee gazed at Sokka thoughtfully while the guard took Sokka's arm to haul him up bodily over his shoulder. "Take him … to my cabin."

It was the guard's turn to look askance. Ty Lee attempted to stare down the faceless man before her, and finally rolled her eyes in frustration. "Just do it. I'm going to talk to Princess Azula now and when you're done you can give her your report." She smirked. "He won't be going anywhere for a while. Trust me." The guard knew he was safe enough following her instructions.

And with a flip of her braid she turned her back upon him as she stalked off to find Azula.

Sokka had not actually expected such an abrupt decision on Ty Lee's part, and he was mortified to find himself being helplessly hauled off to the girl's bedroom.

Fuck! (Owch. Not really…, I mean…)

"She was kidding, right? Ha-ha." He ventured from his position over the guard's shoulder, head helplessly butting against the man's lower back, arms and legs dangling bonelessly.

"Couldn't say, except that I'm taking you where she told me to, although I can't imagine why."

Sokka was even more surprised to hear an answer. To date, no one besides the princess and her friends had said word one to him. The guard continued, "You realize, of course, that Lady Ty Lee is … popular on board. You'd do well to mind your manners with her."

Sokka chewed on that remark a bit as the guard entered the tower.

"Don't think she actually wants that from me." He let a few beats go by as the guard continued his walk, taking a sharp corner. He didn't complain when his head caromed off the wall uncomfortably, deliberately, no doubt. "So. Say you were in my position, what would you do?"

Hell, might as well solicit input where he could.

The guard grunted. "Fuck her silly, 'course. If you're good enough at it, it might keep you alive a day or two longer." He shifted Sokka's weight a bit as he took the first set of stairs. "Mind you, you're probably dead anyway. Princess doesn't kill you, her ladyship's friends will, if you make her cry."

Like I wasn't feeling pressure before. Sokka closed his eyes, willing his nerve ending to regain feeling and his limbs their response to his own control. Yes, as he had thought, he could detect some sense of sensation returning already, although he was still quite helpless. "I s'pose you're one of those friends?"

"Yep."

"Thought so. Well, thanks for the advice. I'll definitely take it into consideration."

Sokka didn't see any point in continuing this particular conversation. After all, the man had appeared content to get himself off on watching the two of them up on the bow, from a distance, no less. For all he was a "deadly fire-bender", Sokka could not but help find a voyeur to be rather less than a threat.

Still less a practical consultant. Sokka found himself swallowing yet another chuckle as the man's shoulder dug into his stomach.

On the other hand, at least for the moment, it was the guard who was in control.

Not to mention the reality that the man probably wasn't a virgin, unlike Sokka himself. Oh no, as one of Ty Lee's 'friends' who knew just what kind of experience Sparky had that might possibly be helpful to Sokka.

With tremendous effort Sokka attempted to regain some sense of focus as to what his next move should be. That is, when he could move again.

And just how many floors above the main deck was Ty Lee's cabin, anyway?

"Don't be an idiot, Ty Lee," Azula paused to pour a fresh cup from the teapot brought just minutes before her friend had reappeared on the dais, somewhat breathless and with definitely heightened color. "He's a Water Tribesman. Worse still, he's an Avatar companion! It's one thing to seduce him; and quite another to give him run of your cabin and, potentially, the ship itself...No."

"Azula, he's totally cowed," Ty Lee wheedled in her most reasonable voice. Ty Lee did not make a distinction between "wheedling" and reasonableness. On occasion, this lack of subtlety worked in her favor. "He knows full well he has no chance against me – doesn't really even try to fight - "

(Ty Lee ignored the evidence of 'dangerous Sokka' – it would not help in her argument with Azula).

" - and he's now fully aware of how well the ship is guarded. Honestly, bluster how he might, I'm convinced he's too smart to try to escape." She paused and smiled coyly. "Besides, I'm sure he'll have no real interest or energy to go anywhere."

It was a familiar card – Ty Lee had shown it often. The reality was, it never failed to score points.

Azula came down hard on her own temper, something she had not needed to do for quite some time. She remembered yesterday's headache and her certainty as to its cause. Now, indirectly perhaps, her Water Tribe prisoner was again nudging her beyond her usual standards of acceptable behavior. Damn it, she did not have to explain herself to Ty Lee, especially since the reasoning was self-evident.

There had been rumors about water-benders actually taking over the actions of others – they called it blood-bending. An abomination, of course. Despite the fact that Sokka was clearly not a water-bender, did he have some nascent blood-bending ability to draw others into his will? Azula mentally shook herself. No. He was no more able to bend others to his will than she was herself. Well, less so, of course! She was royalty, and he was nothing!

Ty Lee's face had fallen upon Azula's pronouncement. She crumbled sulkily to a cushion beside the princess, fiddling idly with the tray of condiments that still accompanied the appearance of the teapot, despite no evidence as to the princess ever touching it.

"Okay, fine. Let the guards cart him back to his cell," she sighed heavily. "He's such a stubborn wretch, anyway. I don't think he'd let slip anything easily, certainly not just to get me in bed, and maybe not even afterwards. He's got a trust thing, you know? I just thought maybe if he were in my cabin he'd think I trusted him. I know, it would be tough to post more than one guard outside the door in that narrow hallway. Just because it's two floors up and, of course there are those tiny portholes in my cabin that maybe he'd be able to slip through and away..." She sighed again, resting her chin heavily on her knuckles as she gazed absently across the table.

"You are not fooling me, Ty Lee." Azula was annoyed. The girl was right, of course. Sokka was no more likely to manage an escape from Ty Lee's cabin than he was from his locked cell below deck, when it came right down to it. Granted, it would take more effort to effect his security but, she grudgingly admitted, if he did in fact invest some sense of trust in Ty Lee, whatever he spilled might well be worth it.

And Azula would dearly love to see the Tribesman's face fall when whatever escape he attempted was thwarted. Oh yes, she wanted to be there when he was finally brought down!

"However, if he is as much under your sway as you believe, it might be worth the experiment," Azula yawned ostentatiously. "Frankly, aside from your assurances as to his…kissing potential, I've seen nor heard nothing to suggest he's anywhere near as pliable to your wiles as you suggest." Azula delicately snorted. "Really, Ty Lee, he's a peasant and a foreigner. A degenerate! Do you really want to sully yourself further?"

Ty Lee grinned. She raised one hand with fingers splayed to count off against:

"He's an undeniably handsome young man,"

One finger went down dramatically.

"…at least as clever as most of your courtiers and probably twice as passionate."

Two more fingers went down. Ty Lee's grin broadened.

"Do you really think I'm wasting my time attempting to plumb those depths, peasant, degenerate or otherwise?" She cocked her head sideways at Azula as the grin continued to play innocently upon her wide-eyed countenance. Ty Le ostentatiously considered the remaining fingers aloft on her hand, and then waved them away.

"Think of it, Azula! You're not 'sullying' yourself while getting most – well, some – of the benefits and none of the risk. He can't get away!" Ty Lee's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Cut him some slack and see if maybe something of benefit comes of it. Let him believe you think he's dumber than he really is. That always works!"

Azula's lips twisted. It could as easily have been called a grimace as a smirk. This appeal had been tried, in rather different circumstances, of course, in the past. If she were to be honest with herself, it had not only worked but yielded Ty Lee's predicted benefits. After all, Ty Lee was far more clever than her appearance or mannerisms indicated. Her weakness for a handsome face was also an extraordinary strength – since Ty Lee held no more lasting faith in the men that admired her than her princess did.

Sad, really. It rather begged the question as to what, exactly, Ty Lee did hold faith in. Except that, actually, that Azula was quite confident in the faith the acrobat rested in her. Ty Lee may not like it, but she certainly understood and trusted her princess to deliver on every promise ever made.

"I think I'd rather keep him guessing as to my opinion." Azula said thoughtfully. "Although you may well have a point. If he thinks he has me fooled he's more likely to make a mistake – another mistake. Alright, Ty Lee. Befuddle him as you may. It can't hurt anything and you might possibly learn something from it." She grinned rather evilly. "Just to clarify his position though, let's make it obvious. I want you to put a collar on him."

"What?" Ty Lee was confused.

"You heard me," Azula growled. "He's your pet now, and I want him collared like any good gecko-dog or cat-deer." There, Sokka, perhaps you'd rather I bind you in chains to the bowsprit after all!

That was rather quick, although I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Mai returned to her cabin in time to see the guard enter Ty Lee's room, across the hallway and down a bit, with the Water Tribesman slung across his shoulder. She dallied a bit in the hallway, fumbling with the key until the guard re-emerged alone. He carefully closed the door behind him, then quickly scooted down the stairway.

By the time Mai had her own door open and had past through, she'd heard the heavy footsteps on the stairs signaling either the guard's return or someone to take his place. She wasn't surprised to see them take a stance at the head of the stairs even as she closed her own door.

Interesting.

Either Ty Lee did not care for the prisoner's accommodations, as far as her own recreation was involved, or the Tribesman had managed to talk her into a change of scene. Since she had never know Ty Lee to be particularly persnickety in the past – that broom closet in their school days coming rather forcibly to mind – Mai had to assume that Sokka had pushed for this change.

Little good it would do him.

Azula may approve Ty Lee's play-time with Sokka but she would never allow him any real freedom from observation. She didn't blame the boy for trying, but he had to be exceedingly naïve to think any dalliance he had with the Fire Nation girl would garner him any particular freedom. And obviously, freedom was what he sought.

And not just any freedom. It must be timely, or it ran the risk of the Avatar's coming to attempt to rescue him. Well, that explained the foolishness of this particular maneuver.

The Tribesman must be getting rather desperate now.

No doubt he'd first assumed his friends would rather believe him dead than a captive of the Fire Nation. Azula was, as always, quite astute as to the feelings of others regarding their companions, although Mai was under no delusions as to whether or not Azula would exert herself on behalf of her friends if it meant undue effort of sacrifice.

And that explained his foolhardy challenging of Azula when he was finally brought before the princess. He'd wanted to remove himself from the field of contention, eliminate himself as a risk element by allowing Azula to kill him.

Very brave, if overall foolish. And it might have worked. Except that he'd understood too late the significance of artifacts that could tell their own complex stories. Mai'd rather enjoyed teaching him that lesson, especially since he'd grasped it so quickly.

Idiot boy. If his mind hadn't been addled by sex she'd no doubt he'd have figured it out sooner. But that's the male of the species for you. Wholly incapable of rational thought once their attention was caught by feminine wiles.

(And if she'd learned that lesson early enough would she have been able to practice such wiles on Zuko in time to stop him from entering the war room?) Mai ground her teeth in irritation. She still didn't know how to practice such wiles, so there was no point going there in her thoughts.

When she thought about it, one of the things she rather liked about the Tribesman was how he'd accepted her as a warrior – he didn't expect her to act like a girl, needing to be coddled or catered to. He wasn't flustered by her presence – as Ty Lee's presence obviously did – but that didn't mean he didn't respect her. No, he'd expressed admiration for her abilities, admiration underlined by his careful attention to her lessons on knife-throwing.

Which drew her mind naturally to the boomerang, his stolen boomerang. She would like to show him her progress in throwing the weapon; she was quite sure he didn't expect she'd have managed to do as well as she had in such a short time.

Of course, if she'd had proper tutelage she'd have progressed a lot further. Hell, even one more lesson would send her trajectory of mastering the throw on a wholly different level.

Pity she wouldn't get another lesson. After all, if Ty Lee had him securely in her cabin, easy access to Sokka was no longer an issue.

It was a moot point, yes?

Unless, of course, she could find something to offer the Tribesman that was more compelling than Ty Lee's blandishments.

Something that would not raise the hackles of Azula's suspicion.

It was a pretty problem.

Something worth thinking about over lunch.