Tears of the Soul

by Vahnati

A year post SC, Azula finds herself free from prison, but with a new threat to not only herself, but her Nation as well. With the love of an old friend, can she rise above the affronts of new and old enemies alike, or will the Fire Nation finally fall?

7. Of Reunions and Sokka's

The three girls walked down the many long, dimly lit at this time of day corridors that led to the throne room in mostly silence. Ty Lee was whispering to Mai, but the girl hardly had a voice for keeping secrets. Mostly she told the Fire Lady about the trip back, the storm that almost killed them both, a senile old merchant, and of course, she had to brag about how much Azula had changed. Mai gave her the usual dissociated look in return, acknowledging that she was speaking but other than that not giving any real response to what she was saying. It was their usual routine, Ty Lee with her inane banter and Mai with a blatant look of disinterest as they both walked just slightly behind Azula. Whether out of habit or just because, the two had kept their usual marginal distance from the princess, even though Mai outranked her now and Ty Lee could have easily defeated her in a one on one fight. The subtle familiarity of it all almost put Azula's mind at peace. Almost.

She was on her way to talk with her older brother, now Fire Lord, for the first time since she had been taken away and imprisoned over a year ago. The memory of the battle came rushing back to her as she rounded the last corner and stood what felt like miles away from the door leading into the throne room. The rush of anticipation as her brother finally confronted her, the power she felt coursing through her entire body as an effect of Sozin's Comet blazing through the sky. Then, the hopeless despair of defeat, the shattering pain of loss... The gut-wrenching misery of having everything taken from her in one decisive instant. Azula shuddered as she squeezed her eyes shut, shaking the tainted memory from her head before it could put her in a sour mood. She had to keep it all together when she confronted her brother, as any slight mistake could land her right back in prison. Her psychiatrist may have deemed her ready for release, but one word from an angry Fire Lord and she would surely find herself right back in that hellhole, if not a worse one.

"Well, here we are," Azula said aloud, more to herself however than to her companions, as they came to the large intricate door of the throne room. After thinking for a moment, she turned her head so the other two girls could see one of her fiery iris' flash brilliantly in the flickering torchlight, then went on to say, "I think it would be best to have this conversation in private, if that's alright with the two of you?" She may have said it like a question, but both Ty Lee and Mai knew from past experience that it was anything but. Any other time, Mai would have reveled in the opportunity to refuse the princess' request, finally having a position of authority over Azula that allowed her to do so, but under these particular circumstances she understood and, albeit more than a bit begrudgingly, respected her ex-friend's request with a nod. Ty Lee obeyed happily, as usual, and the two girls departed towards a separate section of the palace.

Azula listened as both sets of footsteps faded into the empty darkness behind her, then faced forward once again and found herself staring into the eyes of the golden dragon that was forged into the door, a smaller but otherwise almost identical version of the grand one adorning the wall behind the throne. A thousand scenarios played out in her head, most of them ending badly, before the princess finally got a hold of her thoughts. She inhaled deeply, and steeling her nerves, pushed the large door open.

As the door opened, already Azula could see the flames in front of the throne burning bright and steady, yet the heat was not as intense as she remembered their father's being. Still not as strong as father, hmm Zuzu? She chuckled to herself and allowed a smirk to flash across her face at the thought, but just as quickly as the thought left her head so too did the spiteful amusement leave her face. She would need to be the picture perfect subject, a pinnacle of acquiescence, just as she had been all those years growing up under their father's rule. This wasn't her father though, and it only became more and more clear to her as she advanced towards the throne. This was her brother, her horrible, pathetic brother whom she loathedwith every ounce of strength still inside of her.

He hadn't even defeated her in that Agni Kai, quite opposite in fact: She had all but obliterated him, leaving him alive purely as an act of mercy and pity. She had multiple opportunities to deliver the final blow after immobilizing him with her lightning. All that talk of "redirecting lightning"that their uncle had taught him, and when it came down to it he had failed, as usual. Something must have gone wrong because he had ending up writhing in agony on the ground after his failed redirection attempt, convulsing pathetically and leaving her all the time in the world to toy with him before sending him on his final farewell.

It was that sniveling water tribe peasant though, that unbearable, worthless bottom feeder that had taken everything from her. She was the one who put that weakling Zuko on the throne, destroying everything their family had worked to accomplish in the last 100 years. She had destroyed everything Azula had worked to accomplish, and right as she was about to finally achieve her life's ambition no less. That damn water tribe peasantAzula screamed inside of her head while her face remained resolute as stone, her absolute seething fury firing off explosively and bouncing around her head like a rabid beast after prey while to all the world outside she remained completely calm and collected.

Oh well, She told herself after allowing the rage to burn itself out, What's happened has happened. You can't keep burning over the past, you're free now and you need to be a good girl to keep it that way. You have Ty Lee, remember that before you start hurling fireballs at peasants.And so she did just that, and as she pictured her friend's face, remembered how sweet the acrobat's lips had been, she found that the past didn't hold so much pain anymore, and the objects of her anger weren't that important either. Only one thing mattered now, and that was where all of her energies and actions should aim towards.

Azula reached the proper place in front of the throne and she found her body remembering exactly what it was supposed to do without her even thinking about it. She knelt to the ground and bowed her head down with her arms extended out, palms flat on the black marble tiles underneath. "Hail Fire Lord O-Zuko." She caught herself just barely in time to stop from saying their father's name, Ozai. She was still running on muscle memory after all, but at least the Z they both shared in their names had made the correction easier and less noticeable. The subtle shift in the flames indicated that either he had noticed or he simply hadn't quite mastered keeping the flames steady yet, but which it was Azula could only guess.

"You may rise." The Fire Lord replied, after what seemed like an hour, with a completely even tone that betrayed nothing of what he was thinking or feeling. At least he's gotten better at something, Azula thought to herself with a dry sarcasm as she got to her feet. She waited and watched intently for her brother to make a move, any move, but after moments went by and still he sat unflinching she decided she would have to take the initiative.

"Come now Zuzu, a whole year without visiting me and now you're going to give me the silent treatment? That isn't very brotherly of you." Azula teased in that ever classical mix between apathy and a feigned pout that she still seemed to do oh so well, finding a long lost comfort in toying with her brother in this manner. The feeling would have been increased had she been able to see any signs of irritation, humiliation, anger; hell anything would have been nice, but no, instead, all she received in return for her remark was that same unflinching austerity she had been greeted by when she had first entered her brother's throne room, that same stoic figure sitting like a stone behind a wall of bright red and orange flames. Even with the long, dark shadows drawn over his face, she knew he was staring down at her, she could just feelhis chastising gaze upon her as she stood there, uneasy and almost fidgeting as she fought off the urge to scream at him out of angst.

At last he spoke, but his words were far from familial. "It's Fire Lord Zuko now." He said evenly, but with clear undertones of grave distaste for his old nickname.

"Oh please, I've already addressed you with your full title, and I even bowed like a good little girl. What more could you possibly expect from me?" Azula exclaimed, a bitter mix of confusion and anger fighting it's way into her voice. She had to remain in control of herself, and knowing that helped the princess to keep her emotions from getting the best of her. Still, Zuko had more than noticed the frustration in his sister's voice, as his reply indicated.

"All of my other subjects have the decency to remember my name." He stated with just enough bitterness to get his point across. Azula's eyes widened just slightly in surprise and after a quick argument inside her own head she bowed her head humbly and sigh.

"I'm sorry. Force of habit you could say. In any case, it won't happen again, Fire Lord Zuko." The princess' seemingly sincere apology and correction was a shock to both of them, albeit for different reasons. Zuko's mouth almost opened itself as he heard what he had thought to be impossible: His sister sincerely apologizing, without so much as a hint of sinister sarcasm, as was usual whenever the words 'I'm sorry' left her lips. Azula was just amazed that she had managed not to add that sinister sarcasm. Then she realized the reason why, and she felt a modest pride swell up inside of her because of it. It had sounded so genuine because that's exactly what it was. She certainly hadn't meant to call him by their father's name, so it was only natural that the apology was a sincere one. Still, it was an odd feeling, but if she was being completely honest with herself, it was... mildly pleasant?

Without any sort of warning, the wall of fire parted in front of the throne and Fire Lord Zuko walked through the gap, descending to the black marble floor, until he stood face to face with his younger sister, who had been lost to him for a year now. No, more than that, much more in fact. It must have been almost a decade since the last time he could remember them being a brother and sister. He stared at her long and hard, those same burning golden eyes that she had boring a hole down to her core, to her soul. Azula knew from years of conditioning that she was never supposed to look the Fire Lord in his eyes, not while in the presence of the throne anyways, but this was different, an exception.

At that moment, she was no longer looking at the Fire Lord, wasn't staring eye to eye with some powerful, godlike being who commanded respect and obedience from her along with all others of her nationality; she was seeing her brother. Her big brother, her guardian from all that was bad in the world, and the only member of her family who had ever shown any semblance of caring for her; Her Zuzu. Just then, as if reading her thoughts and feeling her epiphany, his arms shot up and wrapped around her. She stood frozen at first, not registering exactly what was happening, but as realization washed over her all she could manage to do was return the gesture.

Azula's face buried into Zuko's shoulder, not at all difficult considering it was the same height as her head, and it didn't take long for him to feel the warm moisture of her tears seeping through the fine silk of his robe. He only squeezed tighter, and she only cried harder. So hard in fact that now he could feel every breath as she gasped it in, every jolt of her shoulders as she heaved in despair. She pulled her head back, twin trails of shimmering, clear liquid streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes, usually so commanding and fierce, were instead now desperate and pitiful, the tears building up and pouring out of them caused the light from the fires to dance off of them with a certain tragic beauty as she looked up at her brother.

"Zuko I'm so sorry I-I-" She desperately tried to apologize, only to have her head pushed back against him.

"Shhh, It's alright now Azula. Everything's going to be fine." Zuko hushed her sympathetically, like a parent comforting a child in the midst of a fierce storm, his voice full of compassion with just the slightest tinges of pain piercing through. Azula didn't struggle against his hand, nor did she try any more to force words out. She just cried, into her big brother's shoulder, as all of the agonizing torment of her past washed out of her through the windows of her soul. All the while, Zuko only hushed her softly, brushing her beautiful jet black hair with his hand. It wasn't as impossibly straight and silken as he remembered it being, but then a year without the constant upkeep provided by servants could do that to one's hair.

After some minutes that felt like hours, the princess' weeping had died to down to sniffles and she was finally able to look up at her brother again. She looked into his eyes and suddenly, as if by magic, it was all gone; All of the pain, the hurt, the torment and agony, the betrayal, and even the anger were gone. It was all gone, everything that Azula had caused him in their lifetimes thus far was gone, and instead replaced by understanding, compassion, and even kindness. It was almost as if all she had needed to do, all she had ever needed to do, was say she was sorry, and mean it, and all was forgiven. Every insufferable insult, all of the tormenting lies and ways she had tricked and deceived him, even the multiple attempts to killhim, were all washed away by her tears, and those two imperceptibly miniscule words. It wasn't the words that had done it though, instead it was the meanings and feelings she had put behind them. For the first time in her entire life, she had said she was sorry, and she had meant it. That was all Zuko had ever wanted.

"How can you just forgive me like this?" Azula begged weakly, desperate to understand how such unconditional forgiveness and acceptance could exist, especially between these two specific siblings. Zuko smirked back at his sister and shook his head.

"If I had a choice, I wouldn't." He replied coolly, his words however struck a chord with his younger sibling, and the worry and confusion shone through in abundance. Zuko only continued, "But you're my little sister, Azula. I love you, and I don't have a choice but to forgive you." That last sentiment was almost too much for the princess to take, but she felt a need to keep her composure to some degree. Besides, she wasn't really sure how many tears she had left.

"Damn it Zuzu." Azula cursed with an obvious lack of any sort of bitterness. "I love you too." She added, pulling him into another hug and whispering the words softly into his shoulder, like the batting of a butterfly's wings against a flower petal.

"Well I have to say, this really is a surprise." A slightly familiar female voice came from somewhere in the over sized throne room. Azula couldn't remember the name, but that voice was only too familiar with it's over-saturation of kindness and compassion that left the princess' stomach with a twisted, sickening feeling that she struggled to not let show on her face. "You really have changed, haven't you? Or maybe you've just gotten better at lying."

"What is shedoing here!" Azula demanded, pulling a few paces back from Zuko and mentally preparing herself for an attack while physically she stood straight and kept her hands down, remaining the picture of civility. The Fire Lord knew from past experience that she was in no way unprepared for an attack, however, and had to act quickly to prevent a repeat incident.

"Both of you calm down! There's no need to fight each other, and I won't tolerate such behavior in my palace." Zuko commanded in as regal a manner as he could manage, which being as young as he was wasn't saying much. Neither girl flinched a single muscle, not relaxing their stances whatsoever but also not outright attacking each other. They were both waiting for the other to make the first move. Even in the long shadows cast by the many massive pillars of the throne room, Zuko could see the cap was off of the waterskin that hung at the second girl's hip, and her stance was every bit ready to throw an attack.

The silence became deafening, broken only by the soft crackling of the flames nearby. Zuko sighed heavily, obviously aware that this confrontation had been inevitable but never quite preparing himself adequately to deal with it. Should have practiced more in the mirror, Zuzu, The Fire Lord told himself in his sister's mocking voice, after it was apparent that she wasn't going to say it. It was an odd void to fill, if nothing else.

"We were the two who were there Azula." Zuko stated solemnly, realizing that he would have to say something to avoid a fight in his house and finding those words to be the only ones he could think of. "Me and Katara were the only people there on the day of Sozin's Comet, the only two who saw what happened firsthand. It only made sense that we both be here for your return so we could...-"

"So we could make sure you weren't still a crazy bitch!" Came Katara's volatile interruption, seizing the opportunity left by Zuko's trailing words to state how she really felt about her old nemesis. Azula's lip twitched in a snarl, but so fast and so miniscule was it that nobody aside from herself ever noticed. She saw in her brother's eyes that he was starting to feel the anger building up, an all too familiar look to Azula, the only exception being that this time, he wasn't angry at her.

"To make sure that she's betterKatara!" Zuko turned his gaze towards the dark skinned Waterbender as he shouted his disapproval of her statement. Azula was the only one to notice the flames before the throne growing slightly.

"Better?" She scoffed, resentment dripping from her tongue with every word, "Better? She'll never be better, Zuko! She's a psychopath, remember? She practically killed you andAang, remember! We can only guess how many others she's succeeded on, and nobody's safe as long as she's walking around free, you know that Zuko!"

"I knowthat she's my sister!" The Fire Lord screamed furiously, causing the wall of fire behind him to explode upwards in a conflagration that now practically touched the ceiling of the massive chamber. Any argument the girl may have had in response was laid waste to by the terrible display of power, which even Azula may have felt somewhat impressed by, not that she would ever admit it though. Zuko felt a slight swelling of pride himself at seeing how speechless he had left the Waterbender, but he knew it wouldn't last, and if he was going to drive his point home he needed to make use of the opening. The flames fell steadily as he regained his composure, and once they were back to their normal height, about 3 feet at the tallest, he spoke.

"Azula's done some terrible things in the past, nobody can argue that." Katara didn't even try to suppress her snorting response at these first few words, but a burning glare from Zuko silenced her once again and he continued, "And so have I. We all make mistakes in life, and to say that some mistakes are worse than others is all a matter of perspective. The only thing that really matters is whether or not we learn from them and change our paths accordingly. It may have taken her longer than it did for me but that's not important; What's important is that she haschanged, not how long it took her to do it." Zuko paused to gauge the girl's expression, and was dismayed to see that his words were having little effect on the Waterbender. That's when it hit him, and he wanted to slap himself in the forhead for not realizing it sooner, as it was certain to be the one thing she couldn't argue with. "How would Sokka act if it was you?"

Katara's mouth opened as if she were about to continue the argument, but all that came out was silence, and after a brief inner battle with herself the Waterbender conceded the point and, bowing her head, she finally relaxed her stance.

"Fine." Was all the girl could manage to force out, as weakly as if she had been being choked for the last 5 minutes. Without warning her head shot up, and her deep ocean blue iris' flashed threateningly across the emptiness between her and Azula. "But if you so much as twitch and it looks threatening enough, I will take you down myself, again, only this time you won't be so lucky." Katara warned her ex-opponent, and every part of her, from her words to her expression, conveyed to Azula that she meant exactly what she said.

"I'll admit, I can fully understand your trepidation, as well as your, shall we say, less than hospitable attitude towards me." Azula replied admittedly, knowing full well of her past atrocities towards the water tribe girl and her friends. Katara's lip curled in disgust as the princess spoke to her, as if she regarded every word as a venomous lie. Old habits died hard after all. Azula took note, but held a steady look of disinterest and continued, "But let me tell you this; A year locked away in a light-less, insignificant prison cell with nobody to talk to and no fire to bend left me with a lot of time to think as well as a greater appreciation for freedom. I realize I may have caused some trouble and even pain for you and your friends." Here she paused, sighing as she remembered some of the worst of it and her shoulders slumped as she realized any attempt at an apology would come off as completely lame and ineffective. Still, she had to try.

"I can't change that. Nobody can. Not even your precious Avatar." She stopped when she noticed the hostility quickly returning to the Waterbender's eyes, and decided her point had been driven far enough. "All I can do is offer my apology. Whether you take it or not is up to you, but here it is anyways." Drawing a breath, Azula finished with a defeated sounding "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Katara echoed disbelievingly, staring at the female Firebender with an open mouth that was twisted in a way that matched her eyes in saying 'Are you kidding me?' Finding her voice again, the angry girl decided to continue her verbal onslaught anew,"No, you really are sorry if you think that's supposed to be good enough! See Zuko, she hasn't changed at all, she's still a crazy bitch if she thinks that sorrymakes everything better!" Azula winced at Katara's harsh words but otherwise remained unmoving and trying to keep her composure. It wouldn't be easy if the Waterbender planned on keeping it up, which of course, she had every intention of doing.

"You nearly killedthe Avatar, and in the Avatar state no less! You could have ended the cycle forever, but you probably either didn't realize that, or just didn't care, because that way the world would be open for you and your little Fire Nation soldiers to destroy!" She shrieked venomously as the anger filled her all over again. Even Zuko felt slightly disturbed now, being from the same nation as his sister and having his own part to play in that particular battle after all.

Katara didn't seem to pay any mind to his being in the room, however, as she went on with her rant. "And as if that weren't enough, you captured Ba Sing Se, the last safe place from your little fiery claws, you've tried multiple times to kill your own brother! I mean, what kind of a psycho are you really? Huh! What kind of psycho are you that tries to kill her own family. Hell, you probably even killed your own mother and burned the body, no wonder nobody can find her. It's not like it would surprise me in the slightest you, you, you MONSTER!" Katara's furious screams echoed around Azula in the darkness, filling her head and causing her knees to tremble.

Hard as she tried, the princess could no longer keep herself together. She couldn't remember backing up until her back was against a pillar, but as her knees gave out underneath her Azula found herself sliding down the smooth marble surface as all at once, she shattered. Her entire facade of calm control and composure fell apart into teardrop shards that crashed against the floor. She couldn't help herself, couldn't stop herself from breaking down completely into a violent fit of agonizing despair. It hadn't necessarily been the Waterbender's words, hurtful as they were, that had caused it though. It was the fact that she was right. About everything. (Well, almost everything. She did not, in fact, kill her own mother, but compared to her many other faults that hardly seemed like it would make a difference.)

"Katara that is enough!" Zuko roared, using every bit of his authority (And Firebending, if the conflagration that erupted in the room was any indication) to the fullest. The girl gave an audible huff, clearly showing her dissatisfaction with being commanded in such a manner but otherwise obeying the Fire Lord's wishes. She was in his palace after all. He turned again towards his sister and felt his heart sink with a weight of pity that he had never imagined he could feel for his sibling. After all, she had been born lucky, a prodigy who garnished the envy of every citizen of the Fire Nation, trained to perfection in the art of Firebending. For longer than he could remember he had been envious of his sister, of all the attention she was given and how she never seemed to do wrong by anyone, least of all their father, which served only to infuriate the young prince more. Now all of that was gone however, and in it's place was pity. Pity, and sorrow.

"Azula?" He asked cautiously, feeling somewhat apprehensive and unsure about how to approach the girl who was now nothing more than a sorrowful heap of her former self. Zuko didn't know what to do, didn't know how to treat this broken object of his past resentments. He decided the only decent thing for him to do was to treat her not like a monster, but a person, something that had been sorely missing in his sister's life. The Fire Lord knelt down at his sister's side and placed an arm on her shoulder, immediately causing a violent jerking reaction from the girl. "Azula, please." His words, pleading as they were, were also resolute and firm as Zuko made no attempt to hide his sincere concern for his little sister.

Azula heard, and managed to take control of her emotions enough to stifle the tears with a sniffle. She opened her eyes and looked desperately to her brother, the usual fierceness of her eyes was nowhere to be found and in it's place was a tragic plea that begged for answers, for some kind of guidance or insight that might ease the burden of her conscious and ease the pain of her own tormented memories. What she found when she stared into her brother's eyes wasn't an answer, but it was comforting. Even though he couldn't help her, she knew that he at least cared. His eyes, a perfect reflection of her own and burning like embers into the night, told her that much. They told her that even if he didn't have the answers, even if he couldn't take the pain away, that he nevertheless cared about her, and wished that he could. It was enough for Azula.

"I'm scared Zuko." She told him weakly, sounding almost hollow as she spoke. "I'm scared that these nightmares will never go away, that I'll always be tormented by my own conscious and I'll never be anything more than.. than a.. a prisoner inside my own head..." Zuko could see his little sister trembling as she took another few breaths in an obvious attempt to get a hold of her emotions. That's when Azula looked up, right into her brother's golden eyes, and in the most heart-wrenching, miserably weak voice he had ever heard she asked, "What if the pain never goes away?"

That's when she started to lose the battle against her own tears that had begun pooling in her eyes, causing those amber orbs to shimmer against the dull red glow of the burning flames in what could have only been described as tragically beautiful. Glistening droplets soon began to stream down her pale cheeks, meeting at her chin and pausing briefly before breaking free and falling weightlessly, only to shatter on the black tile underfoot. It wasn't long before the floor was sparkling with thousands of the tiny liquid diamonds.

"It never does." Zuko replied solemnly, already knowing it wasn't what his sister wanted to hear but also acknowledging that it was the truth. He sat down beside her, back up against the same pillar, and with only the slightest of hesitation he reached his arm around her and placed it on her shoulder. Azula didn't even think about fighting the light pull of his arm, instead eagerly allowing herself to be brought into his compassionate warmth. Resting her head on his shoulder seemed like a good idea anyways. It was nice to have a shoulder to cry on that wasn't just a metaphor. "But it does get better." Zuko added with a reassuring certainty that could only have been born from the first hand knowledge that it was the absolute truth.

Azula felt her tears ceasing as that only recently familiar feeling of hope began once again to blossom in her chest. She knew her brother was telling her the truth because she knew he had gone through it as well. They had both been willing pawns to their father's plans for destruction, and Zuko was just as guilty of many of the same sins as Azula was. She could tell it still hurt him, even now after becoming the Fire Lord himself, just by the pain in his eyes, but she could also see that it wasn't as hard for him now as it must have been when he had first dealt with it. If Zuko could do something then there was no reason whatsoever that she couldn't, and that gave the younger sibling all the motivation she needed.

After a moment of companionable silence, and without any sort of warning, Azula threw her arms around her brother's middle and proceeded to squeeze him just as tightly as her still weakened body would allow. That 'mildly pleasant' feeling from earlier had grown, expanding into something truly... wonderful. It had become a soothing, warm, tingling pulse that permeated throughout her entire body, and she knew exactly who she had to thank for it, and she was clinging to him as if for dear life at that very moment.

"Thank you, Zuko. Thank you somuch." She breathed, her words registering as just barely audible. Thankfully she was on the same side as his good ear, and he chuckled lightly in response as he returned her embrace, though with much reduced vigor than his counterpart.

"Don't mention it, 'sis. I know what you're going through, believe me, it wasn't very long ago that I-" Zuko was interrupted by his sister's head shaking and a noise of disagreement.

"No, Zuko," Azula began to clarify, giving him a fresh squeeze while trying to think of what she must have done in her last life to have gotten so lucky in this one. "Thank you for being my brother."

Zuko blanched, and as he felt the warm fuzzies expanding to conquer every corner of his body, he was already fast losing the battle of the eye, the feeling of needles stabbing from the inside heralding the tears that were sure to follow soon. He closed his eyes and bowed his head just as they started to flow and he allowed a small smile to play at his lips. "Thank you for coming back to me," He started saying as he pulled his head back up, gazing affectionately into his little sister's now sparkling golden orbs, and, before continuing on he reached up to brush a few stray strands of her raven black hair from her face and then added, "And for being my sister again."

Katara, who's presence had in all likelihood been completely forgotten at this point, stood silently and watched this display of sibling affection without ever having any true appreciation for just how rare of an act it was. Either that, or she just wasn't buying it. Katara was often the first to see the good in most people, and to offer them a second chance. This wasn't most people though. This was Azula, and had she had her way there wouldn't have been any second chances for anybody. Katara, along with all of her friends, would almost certainly have been either killed or imprisoned by the evil princess if she had won. That psycho almost killed Aang,She reminded herself when she felt the ever familiar rise of pity start to tug at her heartstrings, triggered by the sight of her nemesis in such a fragile state. The Waterbender clenched her eyes shut hard, steeling her mind against her own kindhearted nature. There could be no second chances.

Not for her.

However mad Katara may have been, she was still human, and she wasn't going to press the issue right after what she had just witnessed. Whether it was true emotion or just a carefully calibrated facade, she knew she couldn't win an argument just then. Even if it was a lie, Azula was a good enough liar to keep it up even under pressure, and Katara knew that. She also knew that, in the end, Zuko would side with his sister whom he'd just shared tears with over her. The Waterbender would just have to bite her lip and bide her time. If she's lying, she'll slip up sooner or later, Katara convinced herself, hoping she could expose the monster for what she was before any real damage could be done to the free people of the world. I just hope it's sooner.

The sound of Katara clearing her throat brought everybody's attention back into focus. Azula gave her older brother one final look of gratitude and he returned it with a smile and a slight nod that silently said 'your welcome.' He was a big brother after all, and even after what had transpired between them, his first and foremost duty was still to his little sister. It was the least he could do. Brother and sister withdrew their respective arms and slowly they stood, balancing themselves on the great big pillar they had both shared while on the floor.

"I suppose I've wasted enough of your time, oh Fire Lord, and I really should be going." Azula announced with a hint of her old sarcastic vernacular that forced a smirk from Zuko. It was the little things that told him she was going to be alright that really counted. The princess glanced in Katara's direction briefly before adding, "I'm sure Mai would appreciate somebody saving her from Ty Lee as well." A group laugh followed this remark, one out of genuine humor, the other out of support, and the third just to play along.

"Can we expect you to join us later tonight for your welcome home dinner? I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty to arrange something special to celebrate." Zuko informed his sister as he made his way back towards his throne. Azula nodded, warming at the idea of a full, hot meal, the likes of which she hadn't enjoyed in over a year.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Zuzu." She replied coyly as she tidied her green kimono, brushing some dust off and pulling a few strands of hair from the fabric. "I will of course need some extra time to get myself presentable. I haven't had a proper bath in over a year and my hair won't last another day without combing. I'm sure you understand."

"Oh we wouldn't darestart without your highness at her most excellent." Katara jeered with no attempt at hiding the biting sarcasm. The bitterness of her voice was practically dripping off of her tongue as she spoke and infecting the air between them with a palpable hatred. Azula gave her old adversary a cursory glance as she allowed herself to smile smugly. She had won this round, and she knew it. The Waterbender wouldn't risk another fight, verbal or otherwise, as long as Zuko was around.

"Splendid. See you both then." Azula said in farewell with a falsely pleasant tone that she knew would eat away at the water tribe girl. A sideways glance told her that she had accomplished this, and with that, she turned and began walking towards the exit with carefully placed, fluidly silent steps that made her appear to almost glide over the black tiles. She approached the grand, elegant doors of the throne room and with a push she slipped through the opening and disappeared into the darkness beyond, leaving only the clangof the door behind her to reverberate throughout the room.

Katara seethed at those parting words, or perhaps it was more due to the fact there was nothing she could do about them at the moment. She made another audible huff of discontent as Zuko took to his throne, and he already knew from past experience what was about to come next. After living with his sister for as long as he had, most other people were surprisingly easy for him to read.

"Katara, don't..." He tried to start, but he had lost that battle before it had begun.

"I can't believe you're so willing to just accept her back after everything that happened! I mean, come on Zuko, even you aren't thatdense!" She shouted vehemently, the frustration now clear and unbridled in her voice, like waves crashing against a cliff side.

"Katara you don't understand-"

"No you don't seem to understand! She'll probably kill you in your sleep so she can take the throne and then what? She'll start the war right back up again and finish it for good." Fumed the Waterbender, no longer even caring that she could easily be heard by anybody who wished to snoop outside the door.

"I have it under control, you don't need to worry about it." Zuko replied surprisingly loud through his gritted teeth, trying to keep his calm but clearly losing as he found it impossible to get a word in edgewise in his own throne room. At this claim of control Katara only scoffed in disbelief, almost mockingly, as if the very idea that he could get anything under control, especially his sister, was a joke in and of itself.

"Under control? You have it under control? That's supposed to make me feel better about this! Exactly how do you have this under control?" She demanded, for the moment giving up on trying to argue any sense into her friend.

"You don't need to worry about it." Was the Fire Lord's cold response, and he turned his head away to hide his face. If the waterbender could have seen his eyes, she would have seen the hurt, the shame, and the regret, and it only would have turned her anger into worry. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could he added, "That will be all for now, Katara." He said those last words with an iron resoluteness that meant she had better drop the subject and remove herself from his presence, lest she tempt the anger of a Fire Lord. They may have been friends, so it was sometimes easy to forget, but Zuko was the leader of a nation, and with but a word he could have her hauled off to some dungeon, or worse. Of course, he would never do something so harsh out of anger towards her, but still, sometimes even Katara had to accept that people had their limits and should never be pushed beyond them. Aang was all the proof she needed of that.

"Yes, Fire Lord Zuko." Katara acquiesced hesitantly, and the words left a harsh, acerbic taste in her mouth as well as the room. Zuko could feel just as well as hear the frustration still boiling inside of the Waterbender as she made her way to the exit, but he didn't care. He was through arguing with her about that particular subject. He had his own demons to face up to, and he knew it wouldn't be easy.

---

"So you're sure this is what you want to do then?" Mai asked in her usual tired monotone. If it were anybody else, they probably never would have noticed the minute differences in her voice that signified her concern. Ty Lee, however, could hear it clear as day, and it meant a lot to her that her friend, while not at all agreeing with her decision, still cared enough about her to question it.

"It's the only way Mai." The acrobat, arms wrapped around her middle, said with a desperation born of uncertainty. Her friend gave her an uncertain look, silently offering that there was an alternative, even if it was one the acrobat was unwilling to accept, and Ty Lee felt a knot twisting in her stomach at the very thought of what she was conveying. "I can't do it, I just can't! She's changed too much Mai. You should see it, she really is happier now. We can be happy together, I know we can."

"What if she hasn't though? We've both seen her 'happy' before, and then the next day she wants to kill someone. You're not thinking straight here, Ty Lee. You're letting your own trusting nature and desires that she couldbe a better person cloud your judgement. The reality is that she's mentally unstable, and mental illnesses don't just go away. They recede for a while, weeks, months, sometimes even years, but sooner or later it will come boiling back up to the surface, and then what? What if nobody's there to save you Ty Lee, have you ever thought about that?" Mai demanded with an urgent forcefulness as an alien anger flashed across her brown eyes. She didn't have any trouble regaining control over them, but the very slip of emotion was enough to convey that she was truly upset about this.

When Ty Lee failed to answer right away, the Fire Lady sighed and bowed her head, clearly not wanting to have to go where she was about to but seeing no other alternative. "Do you think she would have the same qualms about killing you as you do with her?" At that the acrobat squeezed herself and clenched her eyes to fight the tears. It bore into her with it's hideousness, but what truly disgusted her was not knowing what bothered her more, the question, or the answer?

"I can't do it Mai! I won't! I don't know whether she would or not, but it doesn't matter because I'm not her, I'm me! And I'm not going to do it. How could I ever live with myself, always wondering what if it would have worked out? What if we couldhave made something lasting, but knowing that I ruined the only chance I ever had to find out. It would tear me apart!" Ty Lee wailed, no longer caring to contain the swell of tears that were spilling down her cheeks. Her friend looked at her with pity, or at least what counted as pity for her, but said nothing, could find nothing to say that she thought might help. After a moment of silence the shaking acrobat added quietly, "I'd rather die by her hand than die without her."

Mai nodded silently and cast her eyes down to the floor, showing that she understood and was even sorry for pushing her friend like that. "I just wanted to make sure this was really what you wanted to do Ty." She explained, careful not to invoke any more unstable emotions from the girl in pink, who now looked up with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes.

"It is Mai. I know it is, it's the only way." Ty Lee meagerly replied, as if trying just as much to convince herself as she was her friend. The Fire Lady held a hand up to let her know she didn't need to say anymore.

"Alright, I'll help you. Just don't go making a-"

"Really? Oh Mai, thank you thank you thank you! You're such a good friend!" The acrobat squealed in elation as she jumped the distance between them in a heartbeat and wrapped her arms around an annoyed but expectant Mai.

"A big deal out of it." She mumbled, more of an afterthought than anything else. With a defeated sigh she reached up to touch her friend's elbows, the closest thing to a hug most people could ever get from the knife-thrower.

"Well isn't this just touching?" Came a familiar voice from the doorway that neither girl could seem to remember leaving open. They gave each other worried looks, unsure of exactly how long she could have been standing there and how much she may have heard. The pair both turned their attention to the door, deciding that standing there frozen without responding would only make them look more guilty. A wave of relief washed over them as they saw the expression on the princess' face was one of amusement without a hint of anger or suspicion. Deciding they were in the clear for now, Ty Lee rushed over to give Azula a hug before starting her interrogation as to how the meeting with Zuko had gone.

"So how did it go, Azula?" The girl inquired as she pulled away, staring at her friend with big soft blue eyes wide in wonder and excitement. Sometimes it seemed as though just about anything and everything was a major, world changing event to the girl, or at least that's what Azula thought when she looked upon Ty Lee. It had just been a reunion with her brother after one year, for the love of Agni, what could the girl possibly think had happened?

"Well I'm not being thrown out by the guards, so one can assume it went decently." The princess replied with a humorous sarcasm, which helped serve to further increase her friend's high spirits. The acrobat could tell by the way in which she had responded that Azula had no intentions of going over the details, not just yet anyways. If it hadn't been for Mai being in the room, Ty Lee was certain she could coax the information out, but things being as they were she wasn't going to push the issue.

"It could always be arranged." Came Mai's intoned retort, but despite the lack of any emotion Azula still heard the threat in her words, and she could almost taste the resentment radiating from her ex-friend. The Firebender turned her attention towards the girl with an indiscernible curiosity glinting across her amber eyes.

"I wouldn't want you to over-exert yourself, Mai. I know how big of a deal that can be for you." The princess taunted smugly, finding a perverse joy in knowing there wasn't a thing the Fire Lady could so long as she had the Fire Lord's blessing to be there. Mai knew this for the truth it was, and it infuriated her to no end that there was nothing she could do more than glare and spit hurtful words. Starting a fight in the palace wasn't a good idea, as it was very unbecoming of a wife to royalty. Still, she entertained the notion as she fingered the sharp tip of one of her shuriken's underneath her large, overly baggy sleeve.

"I could always have Ty Lee knock you out again, then you wouldn't be very hard to haul out of here." Was her biting comeback, retaliating with the proverbial fire to fight fire. Judging by the sudden scowl on her opponent's face, she decided it had worked.

"Hey now!" Ty Lee interrupted, sensing a nasty fight coming on fast as well as feeling the need to defend her own name. Neither girl said anything, waiting for their mutual friend to continue, but the ensuing stare down placed a thick blanket of discomfort in the air. "Why do you guys have to be so mean to each other? Can't we just go back to being friends?" She pleaded to both of her friends, but the hate-filled expressions never softened.

"Friends? We were never friends Ty Lee, only tools." Mai said in disgust, with those last couple words coming out as more of a growl. Without even realizing it, she had struck a nerve she never knew she could, and Azula's face turned ashen with guilt. She started to try and say something, but all she could manage was a choking stutter before she turned and disappeared into the hallway. Eyebrow's raised in surprise, that was clearly a reaction the knife-thrower hadn't expected. Ty Lee spun on her with a new and very alien rage burning in her eyes. Mai might not have been scared of Azula anymore, but the little girl in pink was a different story. The acrobat opened her mouth to say something, anything, to scream in rage at the tops of her lungs, but she hesitated.

"How could you?" She finally managed, her voice low and trembling along with her body as she fought to control her anger. Without so much as another word she too took off out of the room to console her distraught love, leaving the Fire Lady to sit, bewildered and somewhat ashamed, in her chamber. She thought fleetingly about chasing after the two herself, but decided better against it. In all her experience with Azula, it was almost always best to let the princess regain her composure before confronting her about anything.

Ty Lee made her way down the corridors at a light jog, determined to catch up to her princess. She must have ran off in a hurry, the girl thought to herself when she rounded the next corner and found another empty passageway. At the end of this hall was a set of large, wooden double doors that she knew all too well. As she reached them, she came to a hault and knocked lightly, a force of habit more than anything else. After a moment without any answer, she listened intently for any sounds that might betray Azula's presence, but let out her breath in disappointment when she heard nothing.

When Ty Lee turned to leave, however, she could have sworn she heard a sharp, quick gasping from beyond the door. Her curiosity getting the best of her (as it often did), she decided she would open the door, just a tad, to make sure. With a deep breath to steady her nerves, Ty Lee quietly pushed the door open just enough to poke her small, oval head through. It was fairly dark, with what seemed like only one candle trying (but failing) to light the entire room. It didn't make much difference, as familiarity soon set in to fill in the dark spots. She could make out the table with the mirror on it, although it looked slightly different than she remembered in the low lighting. Her eyes trailed along across the room, finding the overly sized bed laden with silk centered on the far wall.

Another gasping noise caught her attention, and she pushed her head past the door so she could see the side of the room that it had been blocking. The curtains framing the archway that led out to the princess' private balcony were flowing gently in a midnight breeze, and squinting her eyes to see past them, Ty Lee could just barely make out the crumpled form of her love. Another small noise permeated the night air and the balled up silhouette's shoulders heaved up and down. The acrobat's heart sank, and she slid the rest of her body into the room before silently shutting the door behind her, then made her way to the balcony to console her distraught friend.

"Azula?" She called out cautiously, letting her presence be known before she reached the princess. The girl didn't seem to notice though, as she failed to pay her friend any attention and instead continued to sob softly. Ty Lee stopped just a few feet shy of Azula and looked upon the sight with pity weighing heavily on her heart. "Azula please.." She pleaded softly as she knelt down and placed a warm hand on Azula's shoulder. The Firebender jerked suddenly at this unexpected contact, but as her tear-filled eyes recognized the face of her friend turned lover she dismissed the instinct to attack.

"What are you doing here Ty Lee?" Azula asked faintly, almost as if to herself more than her friend.

"I wanted to make sure you were ok, and to cheer you up. You look like you need it." Ty Lee replied kindly, happy to be there for her princess whenever she was sad or hurt.

"That's not what I meant. I mean why are you here? Why are you with me?" The melancholy girl demanded hotly. So off guard to such a question was Ty Lee that she found herself completely dumbstruck and her face went blank as she failed to find the words to respond with. Azula went on to sullenly add, "Mai was right you know, all I ever did was treat you both like tools, and when you both defied me I was ready to kill you without a second thought. You aren't safe with me Ty Lee, and one way or another you will end up dead if you stay." The words left a bitter taste in Azula's mouth, but however bitter they may have been for her to speak, they were infinitely harder for Ty Lee to hear.

"Why am I hear?" Repeated Ty Lee in a raised voice while simultaneously choking back the lump that was growing in her throat and ignoring the stinging sensation that assaulted her eyes from within. "I'm here because I want to be here, I want to be with you! I already told you, I don't care what happens as long as we're together, that even if I die tomorrow at your hands I'll still love you!" Exclaimed the trembling acrobat with a sad but stern tone. Her voice became low and husky when next she asked, "I thought you loved me too?"

"I do Ty Lee, I swear it I do!" Azula shot back defensively.

"Then why are you always trying to push me away!" Cried Ty Lee, confusion and frustration seeping through her every word. Azula didn't respond right away, instead biting her lip and avoiding her friend's gaze at all costs. It was only when the girl beside her drew breath to carry on that the princess found her resolve.

"Because I don't want to see you get hurt!" The distraught Firebender blurted out, a look of desperation and grief flashing across her face. Ty Lee looked down with a semi-disappointed, doleful look on her face at this unexpected declaration. With a light sigh and a weak smile, the girl in pink knelt down to sit on one of the many large, plush pillows that adorn the princess' balcony, all the while receiving a frightened look of anticipation from her best friend.

"Azula, you're going to have to do better than that to get rid of me ya know." Ty Lee informs her with a tired sigh.

"I'm serious Ty Lee, you heard what that merchant said. What do you think the chances are that I'm a target as well?" Azula inquired weakly.

"That's all the more reason to make me stick around, 'Zula!" She shot back. The princess' attempt to scare her friend off with the threat of assassin's accomplished just the opposite, as evidenced by her coy follow up, "If it's true then someone has to stick around and watch your flabby white behind."

Azula's jaw dropped as she tried but failed to think of something to come back with, all to the delight of her acrobatic friend who was now giggling like a giddy school girl. Finally a devious smirk crosses the Firebender's face as a fitting response to her friend's crude remark surfaces in her mind. Suddenly standing and without any form of warning, she snatches the still giggling girl's hand and slaps it to her bottom.

"How is this for flabby!" Azula demands with a playfully comepetitive demeanor. It was now Ty Lee's turn to become flabbergasted, however she didn't take nearly as long adjusting to the situation as her counterpart had. With a flirtatious smile to match her actions, the girl in pink squeezed the cheek her hand was placed upon, more or less proving her point.

"Ha! Told ya 'Zula, you've gone soft." She taunted, eliciting a look of shock that was quickly accompanied by a reddening flush on the face of Azula. Seeing her victory near at hand, Ty Lee made the final push to send the princess over the edge. "Squishy squish squish..." The girl taunted, squeezing and releasing her hand in tandem with her words.

Reaching her own hand around, Azula decided that two could play at this game. "Oh and I suppose you're just soOo... tight..." Her attempt at ridicule, while cute, was sadly short lived as her hand squeezed a cheek that felt more like iron wrapped in flesh than actual human anatomy. Ty Lee only laughed triumphantly, seeing the fight die in her lover's eyes as she accepted her defeat. "Spirits be damned, Ty Lee, what the hell happened to you?" The princess asked incredulously and with a dumbfounded look still plastered on her face.

"Those Kyoshi girls really know how to work you." Ty Lee boasted with a suggestive wink of one of those soft, pale blue eyes of hers. Silence fell over the two, one out of bewilderment and the other of expectant patience. Sure enough, as the moon's pale light splayed out over the landscape, low in the early night sky and bathing the pair with it's radiant phosphorescence, a wave of lust washed over them, raising goosebumps on their skin and planting a seed of tingling warmth in their bellies.

Predatory hunger mixed with desire flashed across Azula's eyes as Ty Lee trembled with an expectant, uncontrollable longing. The acrobat didn't notice, and the princess didn't remember placing her free hand on the nape of her friend's neck, but it didn't matter as the pair found their faces drawing ever nearer, Ty Lee unconsciously allowing her head to be pulled forward as Azula's warm hand acted without thought. A hushed whimper of anticipation escaped the acrobat's lips just before they were consumed by the fiery tempest of her lover's kiss.

Sweet and plush met hot and fierce in a battle of lascivious passion, a torrent of succulent juices and fiery fervor that left the duo breathless and craving more. Gasping for breath during a brief pause, they began their assault of lips anew, all the while groping with their hands still affixed firmly to each others backsides, one soft and malleable the other firm and toned. It was Azula who's tongue charged the ramparts first, laying siege to pearly white walls of Ty Lee, although a shorter lived seige there never was, as the walls fell swiftly, granting access to the ambrosial maw within. It was there that the sole defender of the keep met the lone assailant in a duel of agonizing ardor, twisting and tangling with one another in an unbroken and overzealous dance. Sizzling, moist tongues slid up and against and over each other, eager to taste the other in it's entirety, to find what savory secrets the other held and to relish the intense flavor for eternity.

To his credit, he didknock. Hell, he even called out the princess' name before he entered, but his life being the great cosmic joke that it was, nobody on the other side of the door ever heard his advance. Entering the room, the first thing he noticed was how dark the room was, with just one meager and more than half melted candle failing miserably to illuminate everything. The second thing he noticed was the soft sound of feminine moaning and whimpering out on the balcony. For as smart as he was, he completely failed to put two and two together, and very soon he would pay the price for his blunder. Following the noise, he turned towards the archway to the private balcony and drew breath.

"Heya Azuuu..laa...uhhh.." Sokka found the two girls tangled in each others arms with their lips locked and hands planted possessively onto each others bottoms. At the sound of someone else's voice Azula's eyes shot open and over to stare at the dark skinned male with some cross between shock and horror in them as the rest of her was still occupied with Ty Lee, who never seemed to notice the entrance of a third party. It wasn't until she realized her lover's tongue had frozen in the midst of combat that the acrobat opened her own eyes to find their onlooker staring wide eyed and open mouthed, his jaw nearly falling off of it's hinges.

"I'll, uh, I'll just be, uh... dinnerinanhour!" He managed to squeak out nervously before turning on his heels to flee from the two girls, who were still very much entangled and preoccupied with each others limbs. He flew out of the doorway and down the hall, cursing everyone and everything he could think of. The spirits who found humor in constantly tormenting him and his so called "friends" who had sent him on this errand in the first place being at the forefront of his verbal onslaught.

"Just go check on her and make sure she's alright Sokka!" He turned a corner sharply, glancing sideways just before he slipped past and catching sight of a pink figure rushing after him. After a quick, worried yelp he continued on with his rant, "Just tell her dinner will be ready, Sokka!" He dashed past some tapestries with enough speed to rustle them in their places a bit. "What could possibly go wrong, SOKKA!" In all his griping, he never even noticed the small green and yellow clad figure leaning against the wall as he blew by, nor did he hear the pleading calls for him to wait. Running for his life from Azula was a familiar feeling and had always in the past proved to be the smartest move. Where the hell was Aang when you needed him?

Ty Lee came bounding down the hall just a few seconds behind Sokka, determination etched into her features. She had to catch him before he could tell anybody what he saw, as spirits only knew what kind of hell would break loose if her and Azula's secret got out. In her distracted sprint, she too failed to notice the small person leaning against the wall, "watching" in amusement at the two fools chasing each other. When Sokka ran past, the girl was simply puzzled as to what the idiot was doing this time, but when Ty Lee came rushing after him, she decided that whatever was happening was probably more fun than standing around doing nothing.

"Hey cool, it's time to chase Snoozles!" The small girl in green and yellow called out to nobody in particular as she took off in a dead sprint after the two. Left to her own two legs, the little girl never would have caught anything, but with a decisive stomp of one of her feet a pillar of stone shot out of the ground under her other one, shooting her forward at a speed far surpassing either of the other two.

She flew past Ty Lee as nothing more than a green and yellow missile, tearing through the air at an almost frightening speed and overshooting Sokka just a few seconds later. Still hurtling through the air but far past her target, the flying girl flipped in mid-air so that her feet were leading, and the instant she felt them make contact with the wall ahead of her, she bent her knees to disperse most of the momentum, then wasted no time in leaping down to the floor beneath.

Sokka had noticed the girl fly past him, and he could already tell from the stance she had adopted what she was about to do, and he didn't like the idea one bit. "Toph! No, don't doitthey'llkillmeee!" He cried out desperately, terror and adrenaline causing his words to come out as one jumbled mess. His plea went unheeded, much to his dismay, and with a mischevious grin Toph threw her arms forward then quickly brought them up. The water tribe boy had to grind his heels into the ground to stop himself from smashing into the wall of solid rock that erupted in front of him.

"ToOoophh..." He whined pathetically, his voice reaching a note higher than any male's ever should, as someone who was supposed to be his "friend" just handed him over to a girl who in all likelihood wanted to kill him. It wasn't long before he felt the quick, sharp jabs to his back that signalled he was caught. Just like all the times before, he went dead limp and collapsed, though luckily Ty Lee was kind enough to grab him before he hit the floor. It was only then that the wall of stone came down, revealing a very self satisfied Toph grinning like a madwoman on the other side, a sense of triumph radiating out of her pale, milky green eyes.

"HA! Caught ya Snoozles." She boasted haughtily, feeling a little too proud of herself for something as simple as catching the non-bender of the Gaang, especially in an enclosed area such as the corridor's of the Fire Nation's Palace.

"Toph, you're supposed to be MY friend! They're going to kill me!" Griped Sokka, sounding every bit the child who had lost in a game.

"Pfft," Toph waved her hand dismissively in conjunction with the sound she made, not worried in the slightest for her friend's safety, "You'll be fine, Snoozles. You gotta stop worrying so much. If Bubbles here is chasing after you, she probably has a good reason to." The blind Earthbender stated matter of factually, knowing firsthand of her compatriot's knack for getting into mischief, especially when the lady-folk were involved. As this thought occured to her, she pointed an accusatory finger at the adolescent boy and jeered, "What was it this time, she catch you watchin' her get dressed?"

"What! No, Toph, that's not it-"

"Peepin' on her in the bath?"

"She's not even wet!"

"So what was it then Snoozles?"

"He caught her with me." Azula's voice cut the informal interrogation short as the cautious princess came walking slowly up to the group in the hallway. Toph could feel from the vibrations in the floor that Sokka's heart had skipped more than a few beats when he heard the girl's voice, and suddenly his claims of 'they're going to kill me' didn't seem quite so far-fetched anymore.

"What did he catch you two doing that has him scared witless?" The blind girl demanded hotly while her feet slowly slid apart, almost in a ready stance in case of trouble. She cursed herself in her head for being dumb enough to set the odds against her by putting Sokka out of commission, but she didn't let it put her off. Two against one were acceptable odds for the world's greatest Earthbender, afterall.

Azula, never one to be caught offguard, noticed immediately the half-assed combat stance that the small girl had shifted into and immediately she raised a placating hand. The last thing she wanted to do was start a fight in the Palace, especially with the Avatar's friends, and despite whatever the water tribe peasant might have thought, she had no intentions of hurting him.

"Please, we mean no harm," the Firebender assured her old adversary, only realizing afterwards how odd the words sounded coming from her mouth, and based on the blind girl's reaction, how hopelessly unconvincing she must have been, and so she quickly added, "Just.. come with us, I'll explain it all if we just head back to my room." A tense, silent standoff ensued in the moments following Azula's request, and sighing she added as an afterthought, "Please."

She was starting to find that little word more and more useful as, much to her astonishment, Azula watched the tension slowly easing out of the blind girl's body, though understandably never completely relaxing. After another few seconds of silent contemplation, Toph begrudgingly accepted the offer.

"Alright, fine. We'll do it your way, Princess Sparkles," She paused to assess the raised eyebrow look of surprise and amused annoyance that imprinted itself on the other girl's face before continuing, "but if I feel so much as one threatening vibration I'll smack you with a rock so hard and so fast it just might knock some sanity into that big head of yours!" Toph's profound threat/insult combo left the Firebending prodigy simply stunned and still trying to make sense of her new monicker. After just an instant of shocked silence, Azula was at least able to make out that the little blind girl had agreed to her request, which was good enough for her. She'd figure out the rest later.

"Thank you..." Try as she might, all the princess could do was draw a blank.

"That's Toph Bei Fong, greatest Earthbender in the world and don't you forget it!" The green clad girl was more than happy to inform her old enemy, announcing her name with all the vigor and enthusiasm that she rightly deserved, at least in her own mind.

"Right, well, Toph Bei Fong, greatest Earthbender in the world, I, Princess Azula of the house of Agni, soul heiress to the throne of the Fire Nation, do thank you for your compliance in this matter." Azula gleefully matched her ex-adversary's overzealous tone with her own pompous display of unnecessary titles. Before Toph had a chance to shoot out a comeback, a long since forgotten voice spoke up.

"Oh, yeah, thank you soOomuch TOPH! Traitor!" Sokka's incessant complaining reminded everybody present of why they were actually standing there in one of the Palace's many corridor's. After exchanging consenting glances, the two benders put their 'friendly discussion' on hold and made their way back towards the princess' bedchamber. Once inside, no time was wasted in shutting the door and locking it, granting the group the privacy they would require.

Sokka, still being a paralyzed vegetable and completely unable to sit or stand of his own accord, was arbitrarily tossed onto Azula's bed, effectively ending any complaints that may have been perched on the young man's tongue as he, in spite of himself, found incredible warmth and comfort in the velvety smooth, silken sheets of crimson that decorated the princess' bed. That's when he realized he was lying on Azula's bed, and he cursed himself for enjoying it as much as he did, and as he did that he was struck by the sudden epiphany that he was lying on Azula's bed, and the man part of his brain kicked in, despite all the hatred and animosity that he harbored for his old nemesis, and he couldn't help but think of all the impure but oh-so-fun things that could be done in a bed this plush with a girl that crazy. So, as the war inside Sokka's head raged full boar, the three girls in the room had a hushed conversation in a corner away from the door, just in case.

"Alright, here we are Princess Sparkles, so spill it; what'd num-nuts see that made Bubbles here feel the need to chase him down and pop him with the no-go chi-flow?" Toph inquired, making full use of her rather unique vernacular that Azula was as amazed as she was amused by. The simple fluidity with which the blind girl was able to come up with nick-names and appellations was astounding to the Firebender, and not at all that different from her own ability to manufacture concrete, foolproof lies for any occasion, right on the spot. There was something about this little Earthbender that Azula just couldn't quite explain, couldn't put her finger on yet at the same time, she knew one thing for sure; she liked it, and she liked her. Not in the same way she liked Ty Lee, no, but certainly in a way that placed her on the 'people I don't hate and feel the overpowering urge to kill' list. Suffice to say, it was a very, very short list.

"Err, right... the peas- Sokka, he... you see he walked in on me and Ty Lee... Ty Lee and I, that is..." For the first time in her life, Azula found herself struggling to find the words she needed. Toph appeared less than amused, and after waiting patiently and hearing only stuttering and stalling, she decided to employ her own special form of persuasion.

"Spit it out already Sparkles!" She hollered in a brazen, forceful tone that teetered on the border between a boy's and a girl's voice and once again left the princess both impressed and offended. Shaking her head in amusement, Azula allowed a smirk to play at her lips and with a sigh of acceptance, she decided there was no reason to keep anything from this intriguing little Earthbender.

"He caught us kissing." She stated flatly, as if it wasn't anything out of the ordinary at all. Ty Lee's response was a self-conscious rubbing of her own arms while glancing worriedly at Toph, who, to her credit, appearedto be handling this information in a mature, adult fashion. Appeared to be. In truth, she was actually still processing what she had heard, and when it clicked all semblance of self control and maturity went straight out the window.

"You two were kissing!" The little blind girl shouted nearly loud enough for the other side of the Palace to hear. This little outburst had, at the very least, snapped a certain someone out of a certain naughty day dream for just long enough to toss in his 3 cents (Sokka having long ago increased the value of his opinion, at least in his own mind).

"Oh yeah Toph, they were going at it good! Like a Komodo-Rhino and a Moose-Lion tearing into each other I tell ya." Sokka's cajoling remark was met with two angry glares and a fit of laughter, but before anyone could reprimand him he added, "I'll leave you to guess who had the horns... and the tail! HA, ohh man I kill me." If he could have, he would have wiped at his eyes to add to the effect, but things being as they were, he could only chuckle to himself, though it was very short lived.

"One more word out of you, little boy, and you won't have to worry about killing yourself anymore." Azula intoned menacingly, making full use of the fear she knew he still had for her. A healthy fear, if you asked her. Being the smart little boy he was, Sokka's only response was an audible gulpfollowed by some innocent whistling.

"So you guys were really, at each others throats, eh?" Toph quipped, much to the amusement of Sokka who was bold enough to snicker with almost no attempt at hiding it, despite the death threat he had received not a minute before. Toph herself was unabashedly grinning from ear to ear, always happy with herself whenever she made a joke to match the warrior's.

"Good one Toph!" Cheered the water tribe boy with no concern for the hole he was digging for himself. Even if the war was over for a year now, this was and always would be an enemy room, and he was lying on an enemy bed, with the enemy standing not 10 feet away. Sokka would learn, one of these days, of that he was certain. What wasn't quite as certain of was whether he would live to see that day. At the rate he was going, safe bets were on 'probably not.'

Ty Lee and Azula themselves couldn't help but smile, and at one point the Firebender even had to fight the urge to laugh outright. Whereas Sokka's joke had annoyed and even infuriated the princess, she found Toph's to be genuinely comical, with a strange blend of subtlety and blatancy that was impossible to explain, but hilarious nonetheless. Azula couldn't honestly remember the last time any joke had made her laugh legitimately. Just another reason to like this blind Earthbender, she supposed.

"Yes, Ty Lee and I were kissing... passionately." She confessed, her regal voice alone being enough to silence the commotion in the room.

"Cool..." Replied Toph dreamily, forgetting herself for a moment.

"Excuse me?" Azula inquired warily, giving the girl in green another raised eyebrow look.

"I mean, that's cool, who am I to judge, nobody that's who." She shot back, almost sounding nervous after her slip of tongue. Despite not being able to see, Toph could still feel the looks of puzzlement she was receiving from the two older girls, and so before either could question her further she explained, "Look, I don't care if you two want to do the horizontal rockalanche together, I really don't. I can also understand you not wanting blabbermouth over there going around and telling everybody." She pointed to indicate the mouth in question before continuing, "But you guys willhave to tell the others at some point."

This wasn't anything the two lovers didn't already know themselves, and after exchanging knowing looks with one another, Ty Lee responded, "We know Tophy, and we plan on it, we really do. It's just... well, we aren't sure how they'll take it and we don't want them to hate us for loving each other but we can't just not love each other there's no way and well we really were just hoping to tell them when the time is right and maybe not all at once because if we tell them one at a time at least we could subdue them if they get mad at us but all at once we couldn't take them all not without somebody getting hurt -"

"Ty Lee!" Azula and Toph exclaimed in unison as the acrobat's pitch reached an excruciatingly high level, both hearing the train as it was derailing and seeing the need to intervene before the poor girl lost a lung or suffered an aneurism.

"Breath, dammit woman, breath! Just take it easy okay? Nobody's judging you here, it's alright, you just need to relax." Toph's reassuring words seemed to help calm the high-strung girl in pink, at least to a bearable extent. Azula was more than happy to lend a comforting hand to Ty Lee as well, squeezing her shoulder tenderly and giving her a concerned but supportive look. With a few calming breaths, she slowly centered herself and was able to think clearly and competently once more.

"Sorry." Ty Lee offered sheepishly as her face grew warmer and her cheeks flushed.

"It's alright Ty. We all know how you can be a little... impetuously neurotic, at times." Her lover's attempt at relieving her embarrassment didn't work quite as well as the princess had probably hoped, as the feeling of humiliation from her giddy outburst was quickly replaced by a feeling of stupidity for not knowing what the hellher best friend had just called her. Remembering old habits though, the acrobat decided that whatever Azula had said about her, it wasn't meant to be insulting, so nodding and agreeing was probably, just like the old days, the best response.

"Don't worry Ty Lee, I don't know what the hell she just said either." As if reading the girl's thoughts, Sokka's voice came from the bed with yet another failed attempt at comedy. He did, however, to his credit, succeed in making her feel genuinely better about the situation. At least she wasn't the only one. Toph probably didn't know what the words meant either, but her head being thicker than the rocks she commanded, she would never admit such a thing. After a swift and short lived group chuckle, the discussion was put back on track, once again, by the blind littler Earthbending girl in green and yellow.

"So, do you guys have any plans for telling everyone else, or are you just gonna spring this news on them when you see a good opening?" She pried eagerly, picking the interrogation up right where it had left off, as if she could simply scroll up and re-read the conversation to ensure she didn't ask something bizarre or completely random that didn't seem to fit at all with the direction of their discussion. For just a brief second, life felt like it was simply scripted, all of her actions predetermined by somebody else's imagination and documented on some guy's laptop; not that she had any idea what a laptop was. She had a pretty strong feeling it was silver in color though (despite the fact she had absolutely no idea what silver, or even color for that matter, was).

"Well, there isn't any real sense in keeping it as some big secret." Azula explained plainly, as if giving a lecture or going over some basic strategy at a war meeting, all the while trying to convince herself of what the best course of action would be. "We'll reveal our little secret at dinner tonight," Pausing just briefly to raise a forestalling finger to Ty Lee who, if the small eepthat escaped her was any indication, was less than pleased with her idea, Azula carried on with her explanation, "I believe it will be the best way. Telling everybody at once does a number of things in our favor, first and foremost being it will reveal who supports and who opposes the idea, clearly defining our allies from our enemies, figuratively speaking. Our little Rock Hopper here is proof that at least not everybody we know is a bigot, and it would be nice to know who else shares her open mindedness.

The next most beneficial aspect of making the big reveal at tonight's dinner would be preventing slander or rumors from spreading. If everybody hears it at once, then nobody can go telling anyone about it because everybody will already know." Finishing her monologue with an odd sense of pride, Azula noticed Ty Lee still bordering on the edge of a nervous breakdown, so she quickly offered a reassuring smile. "Trust me Ty Lee, this is the best way."

"I just... I'm not so sure... what if they..." Her worries trailed off along with her words as she found herself in the arms of her best friend, a soft, loving embrace that melted her fears away like ice in the Fire Nation. "Okay." Was all she could manage to whisper into Azula's ear, her hot breath tickling the Firebender's velvet skin enticingly. If only the other two hadn't been present, they could have picked up right where they left off...

"She's right you know." Once again, the all but forgotten male's voice rose up from the silk laden bed and the girls all turned to stare at him incredulously before he explained himself. "Her argument makes sense anyways, I can't find any immediate holes in the idea, and for what it's worth, I'll support you two." Jaws dropped and eyes widened at this seemingly simple statement.

"You do?" The two lovers asked in unison, though their tones couldn't have been more different. Whereas Ty Lee's voice was upbeat and hopeful, Azula's sounded completely skeptical and disbelieving with an expression to match.

"Hey, what can I say? If two pretty girls want to make out and touch each other, well I just can't bring myself to argue against it." Sokka intoned in an only too familiar sarcastic tone, unfortunately it wasn't that familiar to the two girls in question. He would learn one of these days. He was certain of it.

Before either of the now enraged lovers could tear into Sokka (both literally and verbally), Toph, once again, stepped up to save the water tribe warrior's sorry skin.

"Hold on ladies, please." She raised her hands in a placating gesture, not necessarily trying to prevent the slaughter, just simply wanting a fair shot at defending him. "There's only one thing you need to know about Snoozles there; he's the meat and sarcasm guy. Chances are, if he isn't stuffing his face with meat, he's probably being sarcastic." As if to prove her point, The girls glanced over to see the young man giving two weak thumbs up, displaying just about all the strength that had returned to him with the short lived gesture. "And while his heart's usually in the right place, that pea-brain of his is almost always in the wrong ones." Her little joke (though it was completely true) elicited fresh bouts of laughter from the two girls who recognized this truth for what it was.

"That's just Sokka for you, and even though he's thinking with the wrong head, he's talking from the right place. When the time comes, he'll support you guys, and so will I." Toph declared adamantly, though it was somehow less than surprising to those who heard it. Azula, while expecting this from the blind Earthbender, was still puzzled by exactly why an old enemy of hers was being so... supportiveto her.

"Toph?" The Firebender asked warily, the name still sounding alien and unfamiliar on her tongue. The blind girl inclined her head in response, "Why are you being so... friendly... to me? I mean, ever since we ran into each other again, you've actually given me a chance, and what's more you've... you've treated me like... a person." She mused hesitantly, feeling more than just a bit self-conscious about the situation.

"You wanna know why I haven't beaten you down yet?" Toph challenged with barely veiled humour in her voice.

"Well, I just-"

"It's because I don't see, I feel." She forcefully cut the other young woman off, clearly showing her question to be rhetorical and that she was in fact not finished speaking yet. "There's a lot of confusing and jumbled emotions flying around inside of you right now Sparkles, from fear to arousal and everything in between, but it's what I don't feel that makes me want to help you. I don't sense any of the anger, hatred, or just general evilness that used to define you for me. I know, it's weird, but I knowthe prison system didn't do that for you-"

"Fire Nation prison's suck!" Sokka couldn't help but butt in with his opinion, but after receiving three equally menacing death glares he piped down again, once more finding contention in simply being allowed to live. The sea of silk in which he found himself swimming, with all of it's intriguing and intoxicating aromas, was merely a bonus.

"Yes, thank you Snoozles, for that infinitely useful description." Another group chuckle at Sokka's expense followed the little blind girl's quip before she continued with her original train of thought. "Which leaves only one thing, or should I say one person, who could have caused such a change." Her insinuation was almost as obvious as just pointing a finger, and Ty Lee gave her best friend an encouraging smile in support of the claim. "So if Ty Lee's what makes you happy and not insane or evil and wanting to kill people, then you go ahead and stick your tongue as far down her throat as you want Sparkles, and anybody who doesn't like it can go sit on a stick!" Toph's impassioned argument, as well as her choice of words, caused a slight blush to cross Azula's face, but her embarrassment was quickly overshadowed by her gratitude.

"Thank you Toph." She said softly, though perhaps more surprising than her words were her actions. The little blind girl never saw it coming, but the next thing she knew she found herself being smothered by a very unfamiliar pair of arms as something warm and squishy nearly suffocated her.

"Uhh, 'Zula..?" Ty Lee's timid interjection brought Azula's head up, a quizzical look on her face before her friend pointed out, "I think she's having trouble breathing." She chuckled, pointing to the problem.

Azula immediately leaped up, a shocked look of embarrassment on her face. "I'm sorry Toph! Really, I didn't realize... you see they've gotten bigger in the last year and..." Her face flushed a deeper red as she stumbled for an appropriate explanation. It was only then that she noticed the dreamy, contented expression on the little blind girl's face. She was still breathing heavily in an attempt to catch her breath, but otherwise she was fine. Figuratively speaking, of course.

"Cool..." Toph breathed, only this time it was perfectly audible to the two girls next to her.

"Toph!" Azula nearly shouted, sounding almost offended but in spite of herself, there was a smile forcing it's way to her lips. "You dirty little Earthbender." She mocked, enjoying herself for the clever play on words.

"Hey, it's a healthy coating of earth, I'll have you know." The girl in green retorted admonishingly, though she knew that wasn't what Azula had meant at all. "Besides, I'mnot the one shoving my fun bags in other people's faces." Folding her arms and closing her eyes, Toph wore a look of triumph after leaving her opponent sputtering and speechless. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't simply let one of the girls have the last word.

"Toph, you don't have any fun bags!" He would learn one of these days. He was just, so, certainof it. It was not, however, going to be today, that much was clear.

Before Toph could crush him with a boulder, Azula was more than happy to offer her some pointers in the art of torture. "You know, instead of outright smashing the flea-brained idiot like an insect, although I admit that would be very entertaining to watch, I think you could have more fun with him if you were to get a little... creative." She finished deviously, placing an emphasis on that last word that was nothing short of malicious. Toph's grin only grew wider as she listened intently to what her new friend was whispering into her ear.

Though he couldn't hear any of it, he knew by Toph's grin, and the fact that she was listening to Azula of all people, that whatever was coming his way was going to be very painful and probably worse than death itself. In one of his many cosmic twists of fate, he was, of course, only too right.