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Departure – Chapter Twenty-Two
In the early morning halls of the Fire Nation Palace.
Azula stopped just outside of her handmaid's chambers in the servant's quarters with her arms folded over her breasts with her usual scowl adorning her lips.
She had retired to her chambers after holding the girl for a short while.
And upon waking up she had elected to continue her new curious morning routine that involved walking to visit the girl personally.
The princess scrunched up her nose when she found herself gazing down in puzzlement to find her handmaid sleeping against the outside of her door.
"Servant!" Azula barked while she nudged the sleepy girl's face with her pointed boot.
Elle speedily snapped awake with her drowsy eyes peering upward to find herself gazing up at Azula towering above her.
The princess stood with a displeased frown adorning her regal lips while her boot still pressed into her pet's cheek.
"Mistress!" Elle squeaked just as she sat up with a naïve smile about her unbothered to awaken to the princess's boot stepping on her face.
"What are you doing?" Azula questioned in a pointed voice before placing her foot on the ground once more.
Just as soon as she voiced the query the young girl turned to peer over her shoulder with a distraught countenance.
For the briefest of moments Azula would even go so far as to say that she felt a sliver of concern.
That was to say until the girl spoke.
"T-there's a spider on my ceiling! I-it almost fell on me in my sleep! I-I turned the light on but it kept c-creeping towards me all night long!" Elle blurted out in a comically panicked manner while Azula now glared down at her with her amber golden eyes agape in disbelief.
"A spider? You slept on the floor because of a spider?" Azula snarled with annoyance dripping from her voice while she brushed past her fretful little handmaid.
"B-but it's a very scary spider." Elle whined while she watched her mistress practically kick her door down.
"Be silent girl! I will hear no more of this nonsense!" Azula yelled out as she stomped into her handmaid's chambers with her hands falling to her sides.
"Yes, Azula-sama." Elle mumbled lamely while she sat with her arms folded in her lap.
One moment later Azula stood with her teeth clenched together when she gazed up at the ceiling above her servant's bed to find herself glaring at a very small spider.
It was just absurd to think that her companion feared something so ridiculous!
There upon the ceiling resided a small yellow spider in a small sac of webbing which immediately erupted into a small spark of azure flames.
"Peasant!" Azula bellowed in a supremely entitled voice while she watched in satisfaction when her pet's little head snapped to attention.
"Your Highness?" Elle answered with a twinge of redness to her cheeks all the while remaining unbothered by the way Azula addressed her.
"Come! It's gone." Azula ordered with a snap of her fingers while she tilted her head smugly when she observed the young girl spring to her feet.
Her admirer was a silly little thing.
To be fearful of something so insignificant…
It was just even further validation that the girl would not survive without her.
"You saved me Azula-sama! You're the best!" Elle cried out happily while the princess rolled her amber golden eyes above her.
"I am well aware. Now there will be no more childishness this morning. Is that understood?" Azula spoke with her hands on her hips while she glanced down in approval when her handmaid lowered herself to bow on the floor.
"Yes! As Her Highness commands!" Elle cheered with a joyful smile while she knelt before Azula's pointed boots.
Although the handmaid was unable to see it from such a low angle…
The princess's signature scowl was curling ever so slightly into a small smile.
"Good. Get your things together for travel. We'll be leaving in one hour." Azula announced sternly while she regarded the girl with an impassive stare.
And then she turned to walk away with a cheerful cry of wakarimashita following shortly afterward.
Elle peered up at her princess's tall back with a bright smile of admiration.
And then Azula glanced back at her for a final time before closing the door behind her.
All the while the princess walked down the hall once more with her palms folded behind her back with a more menacing smile once more gracing her lips.
She had a feeling that this mission would prove bountiful…
Yes, she most certainly did.
One hour later several airships soared through the morning skies.
They were of a smaller and slimmer design than the larger airships used in the defense of the Capital on the Day of the Black Sun.
This particular model of airship was designed in mind with favoring maneuverability over fire power for the purpose of pursuing the enemy.
Specifically, the Avatar and his sky bison.
The princess and her entourage were residing aboard the foremost royal airship while the captain's airship followed closely in the rear.
Mai, Ty Lee and Elle were currently following after Azula as the young girl cheerfully walked alongside the acrobat.
It was clear to all three of them that Elle had taken a great liking to Ty Lee.
Elle saw Ty Lee as the person that she could look to for sisterly guidance when the princess was not around.
A role that Ty Lee was all too happy to fulfill.
After coming to a stop at the end of the hall a throng of guards bowed low on the ground before the princess's unsmiling face.
At the head was none other than Zoi herself.
Zoi prostrated herself on the floor before she arose to her feet in a bow with her hands forming the customary hand sign.
"Greetings Princess. Would you care to accompany me to speak to the prisoner?" Zoi spoke as she straightened from her bow while Azula graced her with a pleased nod.
She momentarily glanced in Elle's direction with her golden eyes expressing a sense of fascination over the girl's golden hair.
This was the first time in all her life that she has ever seen anyone with golden hair.
And then she shook off her wonder before she returned her stony gaze back to her princess.
A shiver trailed down Ty Lee's spine at the mere mention of a prisoner.
And the princess did not fail to notice the worried glance that her friend was now directing at her.
"I suppose I will. You've piqued my curiosity Captain…and you girl. Go fetch me a tea." Azula commanded in a stricter voice than usual while she turned to gaze down at her handmaid's rapidly nodding face.
"Yes Azula-sama! I shall do so straightaway!" Elle replied with a smile while she bowed at the hip before scurrying off down the halls.
Zoi gazed after the girl's retreating back before resuming her walk towards the cells below.
Ty Lee in particular was gazing at Zoi with a hidden expression of distaste in her brown-gray eyes.
"Hey…I've seen you before." Ty Lee commented casually while they walked down the stairs to the prison area.
"What can I say? I've been told that I have quite the recognizable face." Zoi stated with a noticeable undertone of pride.
"Of course, you've seen her before. She's high nobility just like us." Mai spoke dully while they began to slow to a stop before prison cells.
Mere moments later Zoi came to a stop before the final cell before stepping past the inquisitive princess to speak to the guards.
"Why are you two just standing around?" Zoi demanded in a manner similar to the princess herself who was observing with an approving eye.
As soon as the guards noticed Azula they dropped down to prostrate on the floor while their commander gazed down at them with a disapproving glare.
"Your Highness, Captain! The prisoner is unconscious." The soldier replied while Zoi stared down at him with unblinking golden eyes.
"So…then beat him until he is conscious." Zoi spoke curtly while her words incurred a disgusted stare from Ty Lee.
All the while Ty Lee couldn't help but shudder as she began to see just why Azula favored this soldier.
"But…we've been beating him for weeks. Anymore and he'll surely die." The soldier protested while his captain stared down at him with an unconcerned countenance.
At that announcement even Mai felt a shiver crawl down her spine while she eyed Zoi's back with unconcealed revulsion in her eyes.
"And? Do you have any moral qualms with beating a man to death?" Zoi inquired without mercy while she watched her men shakily rise to their feet.
When her men hesitated with the briefest expression of discomfort in their eyes the woman swiftly brushed them both aside to open the cell door.
"Go then. You two are dismissed. I will handle it once more…I have words for him anyhow." Zoi ordered just as she stepped into the cell.
Hanging from chains by the wall of the cell was none other than an old man of the Northern Water Tribe.
Both noblewomen now understood just why the princess had sent Elle off for tea.
Azula glanced the elderly Water Tribe man over with callous eyes before turning to Zoi for an explanation.
"This snow peasant is a leader of the White Lotus?" Azula queried in an offhand manner while Zoi stepped before the unconscious man.
"He is Princess. I overtook their ship upon my voyage home. Wake up Pakku…" Zoi responded while she took a seat upon a bench.
"A-Azula this seems…a bit too much." Ty Lee mumbled while her friend turned to her not seeming to care in the least.
But even Azula was a bit taken aback when Zoi's voice rang out in rebuke.
"I wasn't aware that leaping through circus hoops qualified you for military command. I suggest you stick to chi blocking…and stay out of my affairs." Zoi called out in an even colder voice than the princess while she glared over her shoulder at the now offended Ty Lee.
Ty Lee stood with embarrassment in her eyes as well as even a good bit of anger.
"You…you don't know anything about me…" Ty Lee trailed off in an emotional voice while she gazed pleadingly at her merciless friend to defend her.
"In the future Zoi…you will refrain from speaking to Ty Lee in such a manner." Azula commented with a stern scowl while her friends stared at her in surprise to hear her speak up for Ty Lee.
And just like that the saddened woman was gazing at the princess's back with grateful eyes while she managed a smile once more.
"Of course. So long as she refrains from intruding on my campaign." Zoi answered with a noticeable trace of sarcasm to her voice while Azula cast a mild glare at her back.
But even so the princess knew well enough that the woman had a point.
"I am certain that Ty Lee will refrain from disrupting Fire Nation military affairs…especially over Water Tribe peasants." Azula declared while she turned to stare at her companion's flinching face with icy amber golden eyes.
"R-right Azula…I…apologize." Ty Lee mumbled while Mai placed a hand on her shoulder.
Even still she was grateful that Azula actually stuck up for her.
"Now, where were we?" Zoi inquired before savagely slamming the old man into the wall.
All but Azula cringed when Pakku groaned while he slowly came to his senses.
The old waterbender snapped his eyes open to find himself gazing up at Zoi with angered blue eyes.
"Y-you." Pakku stammered in a parched voice while his wary eyes briefly flickered about only to widen upon noticing the Crown Princess of the enemy nation.
"Good morning Pakku. As you can see today's discussion is a special one. Her Highness has seen fit to join us today." Zoi greeted while gesturing to the princess that stood outside of the cell's walls.
"You've spent weeks beating this peasant…and you've yet to gain any useful information?" Azula queried in a voice of waning interest before folding her arms over her breasts.
"It's been…twenty-four days. Isn't that right old man? Would you care for some water? You seem…parched." Zoi quipped in a relaxed voice while Pakku glared up at her with hateful eyes.
"No matter how many days…my answer is still the same." Pakku snapped while he slunk back in his chains ever aware of the game that she was playing with him.
"Even still I will ask you once more. Where is the Dragon of the West?" Zoi queried with her hands folded in her lap.
The princess listened with a sliver of returning curiosity while she leaned against the wall sighing all the while.
Although she was beginning to think that this woman was woefully unskilled with torture.
"Once more. My answer…remains unchanged!" Pakku hissed in defiance while Zoi reached into the pocket of her robes for a small paper.
"Would you care for me to lend you a small fraction of my wisdom?" Azula questioned with a lazy smile while she examined her fingernails.
Her two-childhood friends shared a knowing glance while they suppressed the urge to shudder.
"That won't be necessary Princess. This one has a strong resolve. But I have the matter all under control." Zoi assured with a wave of her hand unbothered by Azula's doubting gaze.
"One can only hope that you don't disappoint me." Azula sighed just as she shrugged her shoulders all the while.
"Your resolve is strong no doubt. But my resolve…is even greater. Today…you will yield." Zoi informed while making eye contact with the old man's refusing gaze.
"I…find that hard to believe." Pakku snorted while his chains clanged with his every movement.
Ever aware that escaping Zoi was impossible.
Even with the cell door open…
And especially…not with the Crown Princess present.
And most certainly not with these cuffs on his wrists restricting his bending.
"What would you do…for someone that you love? Would you betray your own friend…just to protect them?" Zoi pondered in an eerily calm voice while she sat gazing into the old man's fearful blue eyes.
The ruthless statement shook both Mai and Ty Lee to their core as they both gazed away clearly finding Zoi's tactics to be too much for them.
Nor did they miss the way that Azula turned around to glance at Zoi with an impressed countenance.
"What do you mean? Explain yourself!" Pakku retorted with his tired fists clenching in his chains.
"Tell me Princess…did you know that this man was the instructor of the waterbender that you despise so deeply? The one…that I heard gave you a great deal of trouble in Ba Sing Se?" Zoi remarked while she turned to gaze over her shoulder at the regal woman's somewhat taken aback face.
For the briefest of moments, a look of surprise flashed in the princess's eyes that quickly gave way to disgust while she turned to appraise the ragged old man.
All the while Pakku began to feel a sense of dread sweep over him at the foreboding reference to his former student and now granddaughter as well.
'But Katara is with the Avatar! They…couldn't have her…could they?' Pakku thought while he ground his teeth together in renewed rage.
"I suggest you watch what you say soldier. That filthy water peasant is no match for me. But that aside. I admit that this is an interesting…little detail." Azula commented with her fingers curling beneath her chin while she eyed the waterbender with a merciless gaze.
"Not only is she your student…she is your ex-fiancé's granddaughter. One could say…that perhaps she is your granddaughter as well. Katara is her name…is it not?" Zoi continued in a disturbingly casual voice while Pakku suddenly thrashed about in his chains.
"If you've laid even but a single hand on her! Mark my words woman! I may not be able to escape…but sooner or later I'll find a way to cut your throat." Pakku growled out in a manner much unlike his usual self while Zoi gazed back into his eyes undaunted by the threat.
"Would you hold a higher value in Katara's screams? Would you remain steadfast to former General Iroh?" Zoi inquired ruthlessly while she gazed unblinking at the old man tearing his wrists in his chains to reach her.
"You…you are a monster. A vile…wretched beast." Pakku stated just as he sunk the floor with his fists tightening until his knuckles grew white.
The mention of a 'monster' had Azula observing with sadistic amusement just as she watched Zoi stand up from her seat.
"Maybe I am a monster…maybe I'm not. But I will do what I must…in order to bring this war to a swift conclusion with a triumphant victory for the Fire Nation…bring in the trebuchet!" Zoi called out while she gazed down at Pakku's distraught face when the sound of something heavy was being wheeled in by a group of soldiers.
The princess and her companions turned to glance the trebuchet over in puzzlement.
All the while wondering just what the significance was of a single portable steel trebuchet.
"If you do not yield to me Pakku. I am going to break Katara's legs…light her ablaze and send her soaring to her death over the ice cliffs of Agna Qel'a." Zoi announced in a remorseless voice with her heartless words taking her entire audience aback.
Not even Azula would be so blunt!
A tense silence filled the air while Pakku sat on his knees in a state of initial disbelief that this woman would be so monstrous.
All the while Zoi gazed down at him with unyielding golden eyes that made it all too clear that she was deathly serious.
Even Azula seemed surprised by the savage announcement.
Not for any moral protests over the matter.
She could care less if the water peasant lived or died.
No.
It was just surprising to see…a soldier so readily willing to employ such a brutal tactic.
"Then I'll recover the remains…and mail them to the Dragon of the West." Zoi spoke while she turned to walk out of the cell.
All along Pakku gazed at her back with pure rage simmering in his worried eyes.
Ty Lee visibly blanched in horror alongside the similarly unnerved Mai.
She couldn't help but shiver even further over Azula's unfazed expression.
"I'll be sure to tell him…that your loyalty was so great that you let your own granddaughter die for him. That even her screams of terror failed to break your devotion. In any case…we'll see, won't we? I'll be seeing Katara shortly when we ambush the Avatar." Zoi explained just as the cell doors were closed with a clang.
"Y-you…you have no soul." Pakku breathed with a pained tear sliding down his cheek while he stared out at Zoi placing her hand upon the trebuchet.
"Maybe I do…maybe I don't. But I know one thing…the girl is going to fly sky high. That…I do know." Zoi concluded with her palm stroking the trebuchet while she stood beside her impressed princess.
Yet another tense moment of silence followed her monstrous declaration before she turned to walk away.
"Have a good day. I'll be certain to come get you when we launch Katara over the walls of your capital city." Zoi commented with a merciless smile adorning her lips before striding away with satisfaction in her step.
Ty Lee's mouth hung open in disgust before audibly swallowing as she continued staring at her leader's cruelly smirking face.
And with that Zoi began to walk away while Azula shrugged with a callous demeanor about her before she pushed herself off the wall.
"Let's go. Mai, Ty Lee." Azula commanded with a wave of her hand before she brushed past her unnerved companions.
Just when the captain and her princess began to walk up the long staircase the old man called out to them in a voice riddled with defeat.
"Last I knew Iroh set sail for…the Misty Palms Oasis. To meet with my fellow leading members of the White Lotus." Pakku confessed in a shameful voice with his head hanging low.
His shame was so great that he bit his tongue in his ever-rising despair.
The foursome halted with Zoi turning to Azula with a slight smile on her lips while the princess returned the smirk with an approving glance.
"The Misty Palms Oasis…interesting. I will bring you pen and paper, and then you will write down every last detail. Names, locations…everything. Should you fail to comply. Then Katara will fly." Zoi announced with a ruthless countenance while the other two noblewomen gazed at her in growing disgust.
"And if I comply?" Pakku asked in a defeated voice while Zoi turned to gaze at him.
"Then pieces of Katara won't rain down upon the Northern Water Tribe." Zoi answered in a merciless voice while her princess stood beside her.
"Understood." Pakku grunted with blood trickling down his chin.
"You probably think me a monster…but I understand your position. Everything I do…every person I kill to win this war. It is all for the sake of my family and my country. Love…it's such a tremendous burden to bear." Zoi spoke just as she resumed walking while the others eyed her in rising puzzlement.
The old man said nothing in response as he sunk back in his chains pounding the floor of his cell.
Just before Zoi closed the door she glanced over her shoulder for a final time.
"I almost thought you wouldn't break. Almost." Zoi called out in a taunting voice before striding up the stairs out of the cells with the shouts of the waterbender ringing into the air.
The princess's companions could only follow after their leader and her seemingly favorite soldier.
To their dismay they could clearly see that Zoi had Azula's approval.
And with that the four emerged into the hallway after exiting the prisoner holding area of the airship.
"Good work Zoi. You've truly impressed me." Azula commented with her arms folded over her breasts while she glanced at her warrior in recognition.
"I am just doing my duty Princess. To both my family and my nation. Though I must admit that I am relieved. Had I not discovered his relation to the Avatar's waterbending friend…he wouldn't have broken." Zoi stated as she bent over in a bow with her hands forming the customary hand symbol once more.
As her princess gazed back at her with a pleased expression on her face.
And then she straightened while she turned around to walk away with her fellow noblewomen gazing after her.
She was well aware that the princess's friends were not fond of her.
Azula just smirked while she watched her prized warrior walk down the opposite end of the hall.
Their attentions were regained when Azula turned around after hearing a familiar chipper shout approaching from the other end of the hall.
All three women glanced up to gaze on in humor at the sight of the young girl rushing towards the princess with a boiling hot cup of tea in her hand.
That very nearly singed the girl's hands when she almost stumbled.
And just like that the two noblewomen observed the princess's personality take a swift one eighty.
"I have your tea Azula-sama-" Elle trailed off when Azula swiftly moved forward to grasp her wrist with her amber golden eyes narrowing in a reproachful glare.
"Foolish girl! Watch your step when you're carrying boiling fluids." Azula scolded with a frown before carefully prying her cup from her petite handmaid's shaky hand.
"Thank you for saving me once more Your Highness." Elle replied with an innocent smile while the regal woman snorted just as she began to sip her tea.
"It is clear to me that subjugation is for your own good. In the future…there is no need to bring the tea boiling hot. I am perfectly capable of heating it myself." Azula remarked with her cup in hand while they made their way down the hall.
"If you say so Princess. Then I will do so." Elle stated cheerily while she padded alongside Azula and her big sister's.
"Azula rescued you twice, today did she?" Ty Lee quipped with a grin while she gazed down at their young companion.
"Mhm! There was a big spider in my chambers this morning. I couldn't go back into my room until it was gone. But Her Highness took care of it!" Elle explained exuberantly while her two big sisters gazed humorously down at her.
"Well! That was nice of you to assist Elle with the matter." Ty Lee answered while she smiled over in the other woman's direction.
"Please! The girl slept on the floor outside of her room because of a spider. I will not tolerate such pitiful behavior. Therefore, I incinerated it." Azula announced with her arms folded over her chest while she glared at the smaller girl from the corner of her eye.
The two noblewomen gazed at their young companion comically taken aback that she vacated her room because of a spider.
"I-I didn't know you killed it Azula-sama." Elle muttered naively while Azula glanced down at her snidely rolling her amber golden eyes.
"What did you think I did?" Azula scoffed while she observed her little admirer's pure hearted face chew on her lip in a laughably guilty manner.
"I thought you dropped it out the window." Elle stated lamely when Ty Lee patted her shoulder.
"Ugh. No. I set it aflame." Azula declared with a trace of devilish satisfaction in her voice while she sneered in her handmaid's direction.
"Shorty, if you are so scared of spiders why would it bother you that Azula killed one?" Mai inquired with a mild undertone of curiosity.
"I don't want anything to die for me…not even a spider. I just wish they would stay out of my room…" Elle trailed off with Mai giving her a blank stare while Azula once more rolled her haughty eyes.
"Aww. You're too cute Elle. But sadly, that's not how it works with spiders." Ty Lee quipped with her hand patting the younger girl's back.
All the while approaching the princess's private meeting room aboard the warship.
"I suppose Azula's just going to have to do a better job ensuring that the palace is free of spiders." Mai commented with a slight smirk while her leader glared over her shoulder.
"Yeah! You don't want Elle to have to sleep outside of her room do you Azula?" Ty Lee teased whilst snickering under her friend's icy stare.
"Such a trivial task is beneath me." Azula stated just as they entered her make do study aboard the vessel.
"I only slept on the floor because I couldn't find Her Highness's room…" Elle admitted with a finger on her lip while the other two women smirked when the princess halted in her step.
"What?" Azula demanded just as she turned to fix her pet with a strict death glare.
"W-well I was hoping that since I couldn't return to my room that I could join you for a snuggle." Elle spoke softly with a blush while she began kicking at an imaginary pebble.
At this point both noblewomen were trying to stifle their mostly good-natured laughter over the princess's comically narrowed stare.
This was just further proof of Azula's fondness for Elle.
If anyone else continued to speak of a desire to snuggle with Azula they would be surely burned alive on the spot.
Yet to date the princess has not harmed a hair on the girl's body.
"No! There will no snuggle! Even if your room is infested with spiders!" Azula snapped only for the girl's face to turn pale in horror.
It was only post haste that she realized she could have worded that better.
"M-my room is infested?" Elle stammered in a terrified voice while Ty Lee sighed.
"That isn't what Azula meant Elle. She's just being a snuggle prude." Ty Lee explained sagely while her friend snorted over the term.
"Your room isn't infested. But don't worry. We'll show you where Azula's chambers are placed on the ship. Just in case you need her." Mai assured with a nod while they watched Elle's head snap upward in delight.
"No Mai. No, you will not." Azula warned frigidly just as she seated herself upon her throne with her tea in hand.
"If I work really hard Azula-sama can we share a snuggle on the road trip?! Please!" Elle pleaded while making her way over to sit at the foot of her mistress's throne.
The princess just glared at the girl through the corner of her eye yet made no move to push her handmaid away when she seated herself before her booted feet.
The other two women sat down in chairs while they watched the strange duo continue to interact in a bizarre yet touching manner.
"Firstly, this is not a road trip!" Azula barked while pointing a finger down at her smiling pet just as the girl leaned into her knee.
"It…kind of is Azula. I mean…we're sort of on the road." Ty Lee insisted even while her friend turned to glare at her.
"There must be something I can do to earn a snuggle Princess." Elle whined while she blinked up at the seated woman with her best puppy dog eyes.
The mere concept of a servant working to earn snuggle rights with Princess Azula was enough to give Ty Lee yet another round of giggles.
"Hm…very well then girl. Foot massage now!" Azula bellowed in an unbelievably spoiled manner before thrusting a boot in Elle's blushing face.
"…Maybe we should leave." Mai stated in a deadpan voice while she turned away sighing.
"Yes Princess!" Elle agreed happily just as she put her hands out when Azula's boot lowered into her waiting palms.
"You shall labor at an increased rate for every moment of this voyage until I am satisfied. Is that clear servant?" Azula spoke with her palms resting atop her belly while she stared down at her smaller companion now removing her boot.
"Wakarimashita!" Elle chirped with a bright smile she placed her mistress's foot in her lap.
"You will…mostly likely not earn such a pathetic reward. But you'll never know unless you try." Azula announced with smugness lacing her voice while her two-childhood friends stared at her in a chiding manner.
"Azula…that doesn't sound very fair." Ty Lee complained only for her scolding words to fall on deaf ears.
"Quiet Ty Lee. I am trying to enjoy my foot massage." Azula remarked with a lazy wave of her hand while she wiggled her toes just as the petite blonde removed her stocking.
Ty Lee just sighed while she shook her head knowing that the poor girl has already been duped into working even harder.
Yet if Elle's smile was anything to go by.
It doesn't appear that it bothered their young companion minded in the least.
AN:
In this chapter we got to see Zoi's cruel side. We also got to see the start of a dispute between Zoi, and Mai and Ty Lee, which will only escalate to the point of violence. Zoi is an easily offended warrior, and Ty Lee unknowingly set her off.
In the later chapters we'll get to see Zoi's more compassionate side, but when it comes to her enemies she shows no mercy.
For the time being Zoi will appear sparsely, out of fear that Zoi would see her being kind to Elle Azula has her travel in a separate airship. As they track down Aang's location we'll get to lots more fluff between Azula and Elle. Azula will be a bit more open with her budding affections because her father is not around to walk in on her.
And last but not least, we also got to see how quickly Azula changes her mood as soon as Elle walks in on the scene. She went from sanctioning Pakku's torture to showing concern when Elle almost burned her hand with boiling water.
As of right now Azula is learning how to show compassion, but for Elle and Elle alone.