Azula woke up exhausted the next day and nearly had a heart attack as the cold weather took over her again. She typically rose with the sun but the sun barely shines in a place so cold and barren. Yesterday had been a nightmare for her and seemed liked it was not ending any time soon. She dreaded the weather, the clothes, the people. Everything about the icy wasteland she was in was horrible.

"Good Morning, Princess." Her quiet ranting was put to an end when she heard someone speak. She looked up with an urgency and saw the elderly woman from two days ago. If her memory served her correct, the woman was Sokka's grandmother. Her name escaped Azula but she remembered them calling the woman Gran-Gran.

"Good Morning," the Princess says quietly. She was unsure of the older woman. She was the opposite of the grandparent she had. If she could even call Azulon a grandparent. He was more of figure, standing in the shadows and acting as the perfect puppet master. This woman was kind and loving, she clearly loved her family.

"Are you hungry?" Kanna asked her and she freezes. The food was... not up to her particular taste but she couldn't just not eat.

Starving to death and hypothermia doesn't sound like a pleasant way to die, Azula thought and nearly scoffed. Neither does drowning but here we are, Azula added.

"I could eat," Gran-Gran could sense the apprehension all over Azula. She knew the girl was way out of place and with what she heard, she has not had it easy since the end of the war. Or even before the war ended. She didn't know much about the girl even with what she had heard.

"Okay, well let's get started. Would you care to help me?" Kanna watches as the girls eyes widen and she chuckles softly. That was the reaction she expected from someone who mostly had servants waiting on her every need since she was born.

"Help you?" Azula questioned incrediously. Of course, the Princess didn't expect to be served at her beck and call but she had almost no experience with cooking fire nation food so she couldn't imagine trying to make any southern water tribe delicacy. Azula's newfound fear of failure have made themselves present as she waited for Gran-Gran's response. She didn't know if that was something she could handle on top of everything else that was happening to her.

"I'll show you how to make it, you can do the easy parts," Kanna tells her and she watches the reaction of the Princess. Azula looked between the pot that was in the middle of the room and the woman standing in front of her. It felt like a trap, like she wanted to see her fail. What help could she truly be with cooking? The woman simply did not make sense to her.

"Okay," Azula speaks cautiously as she approaches Kanna.

Azula carefully watched Gran-Gran as she laid out the ingredients for the meal. She couldn't stop herself from grimacing at the smell of the fish but tried her best to work through it. Gran-Gran turned to the princess, carefully handing her the Seal-Bone knife and the princess paused as the woman held it out to her. She didn't understand what the older woman wanted her to do. She couldn't possibly be trusting her with a knife? Azulla looked at her with questioning eyes and Gran-Gran nodded, pushing it closer to Azula's hand. The raven haired princess carefully grabbed the knife and Kanna continued on with the meal, showing Azula which ingredients need to be cut up. Azula slowly began the process of cutting the dried vegetables and Kanna proceeded next to her, cutting the fish. "Good job, it looks great," Azula looked at her and didn't know how to reply. She had always been praised growing up but this felt strange to her. She had barely done anything extraordinary and yet Gran-Gran had spoken with such enthusiasm.

Is this how it feels to be Zuzu, Azula laughed inwardly at the thought.

Azula said thank you softly and quickly went back to her task, desperately wanting to fade away from this interaction. The pair continued on in their cooking, few mishaps occured and of course the princess grew frustrated at them. Gran-Gran couldn't help but notice the similarities between the princess and her granddaughter. The need to be perfect and get things right on the first try, being the best at everything they did. Kanna smiled softly at her as the Fire Nation Princess stirred the stew in the pot. The elder could see Azula grow a bit more comfortable as she looked over the food.

"Perfect! Everyone should be up and ready to eat soon. Actually, do you think you could dim the fire?" Kanna asks her and chuckled at the look she received from her.

"You want me to dim the fire?" Azula looked at her like she grew a second head. Why would she ask her to use her bending? She missed it, of course, but she thought it would be easier and safer for her if sshe refrained until she returned to the ship. People were already looking at her like she was a criminal, she didn't need anymore stress added to this experience.

"You are a fire bender correct?" Gran-Gran pointed out and Azula scoffed.

"Of course I am!" Azula scowled at her and Kanna laughed her reaction, "What's funny?" Azula demanded and the elder shook her head.

"I just thought that a talented bender like yourself would have no problem with such a small task," Kanna commented and raised her eyebrow at the narrowed eyes she was met with.

"I am not my brother. I could do that in my sleep," Azula turned slighly, drastically changing the flame from the full blown fire it was to a small flame, enought to keep the immediate area warm, including the pot.

"Great, it'll be warm when everyone finally comes together," Kanna smirks at her knowling and Azula raises her eyebrow at the woman.

Did she just trick me into using my fire? Azula thought with her scowl returning to her face.

She couldn't wait to get out of this place.

It had been two months since they had showed up in the Southern Water Tribes waters. The weeks had gone on, and he found himself seeing Azula every day. He tried his hardest to avoid her, but that was difficult when she was sleeping in his home. It didn't make sense to keep trying to act like she wasn't there. He hadn't noticed how his grandmother took to Azula at first. He didn't even think it was possible, especially with Azula's demeanor, but his grandmother always seemed to do the extraordinary. Azula was standoffish at first, awkwardly standing off, watching everyone work around her. She was out of place and everyone knew it.

It seemed like his grandmother had made it her goal to teach Azula the art of cooking so every meal he ate had Azula's touch all over it. It took Sokka awhile to notice the awkward bond his grandmother was building with Azula.

As they gathered around the table for dinner, Squid and Seaweed noodles seemed to be the meal for the night. Gran-Gran placed the pots at the center of the table before taking her place next to the head. Quickly everyone began to dig into the meal and talk about their day, it was like a normal dinner with the addition of Azula. They weren't friends, but he tried his best to get along with her when he had to. This meant engaging with her during the meals and facing the awkward closed off responses that came from the princess. When the meal was finally finished and everyone was clearing out to their own respective places, Sokka thanked his grandmother for the dinner as he always did, but her response was definitely different.

"Well, thank Azula as well. She did most of the work," Gran-Gran smiled softly at the Princess who simply looked back down at her task. Sokka looked on in horror, his mouth open in shock as he looked on, his grandmother's words sitting heavily in his ears. Azula didn't say anything, feeling his stare on her back.

"What? Do you think I poisoned you?" Azula snapped after a few seconds, her fingers pulling on the edge of her parka. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as she faced them. She knew she shouldn't have even engaged when Kanna asked to teach her the art of cooking but it gave her something to do in a place that was dark and covered in ice and snow.

"No! Of course not." Sokka rushed out quickly, worried he upset her beyond what he could fix, "You did a good job." The warrior stammered and Azula looked him up and down. She kept a cautious eye on him and as Gran-Gran moves around to clean up the dishes, she looks at both of them as they awkwardly stared at each other.

"Are either of you going to help me clean up?" She finally breaks the tension and they both look over at her.

"Of course Gran-Gran," Sokka moves to grab the pot from the middle of the table over to where the cleaning area was. He took one last look at Azula who stared at the empty bowl in front of her.

He hated to admit that Azula seemed to be talented at everything she did.

He also hated to admit that her food wasn't that bad.

Good even.

Just as expected, Azula didn't know how to fail at anything.

Sokka had come to the conclusion during those two months that Azula wasn't as bad as she seemed. Of course, they bickered frequently, but that seemed like a given. She clearly didn't want to interact with too many people and stayed between helping Gran-Gran and the newly built library. He didn't think she would find much use of what they had. A lot of what was on the bookshelves included water bending scrolls and water bending culture. They were scrolls Aang managed to find or buy during his world travels. He thought it was important that every nation had a place with its history.

Every morning he'd see her up practicing her Katas, even with the parka on. He didn't understand how she could even stand it, and he was used to the cold air that surrounded them all the time. She'd usually eat with the rest of his family, but she was always the first to be excused, and she would make her way to the library for what looked like more studying. She'd then be right on time to help Gran-Gran with dinner, and she would retire back to her place in Sokka's igloo until the next morning. It didn't take long for Sokka to become used to having her in his daily routine. He expected Azula to be out when he made his way to the boats and next to his grandmother while they ate breakfast.

So when he was making his morning journey, and he didn't see Azula, he noticed. He couldn't be late to the boats, but it stayed in the back of his mind as he was out fishing that morning. He went along fishing, but every other thought was about where the fire nation princess was. She wasn't the type to deviate from routine, that he did know. Once his feet touched the snow, he decided to check the library and relief filled him as he saw her in her usual spot, reading over scrolls.

"Hey. Where were you this morning?" He asked as he approached her and took a step back when he noticed she looked a lot different from usual. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair wasn't combed like it had been. She was wrapped up in a parka and a small blanket as she attempted to read the scrolls in front of her. Sokka looked her up and down, and he knew exactly what was happening.

"You savages got me sick. I'm not supposed to get sick!" Her anger was interrupted by a sneeze that was louder than he expected from the princess and a chuckle left his mouth. "What the hell are you laughing at?" The sneer was nowhere near its full potential and that seemed to only make his laughter louder.

"It's nothing, I just never thought I'd see you sick,"

"You weren't supposed to," it was a mutter as she turned her attention back to her reading. Only a minute had passed before a series of coughs left her mouth and Sokka's smile turned to a frown as he realized she was sicker than she let on.

"C'mon let head back."

"No, I have to finish my reading and then help your grandmother with supper," Azula told him and a sneeze ripped through the air.

"I don't think anyone wants you sneezing all over the food. Gran-Gran knows what she's doing, she'll survive without your help,"

"Let me finish my-"

"Azula, please let's head back. I don't think anyone wants your germs all over the scrolls and tables either," Sokka let out a weak chuckle this time, and he knew that she probably needed warmth and sleep at this exact moment. He loved his home, but he knew how bad it was to be sick there. It was never warm enough, and you could only eat so much stew. He held his hand out for the princess to grab, and she looked at like he grew a second head.

"I don't need you help, I can stand on my own." She gritted this out as rises from her seat and immediately sits back down. She felt as if her fever grew tenfold when she stood up.

"I know you don't want my help, but I'm trying, please just let me help you back to the igloo. You should be sleeping." He explains and she scoffs at him.

"Yeah sure," Azula rolls her eyes but extends her hand out to grab Sokka's. His eyes widen for a second before he decides that this was the time to play it cool. He helps Azula stand from her seat, and they head back to Sokka's igloo. As soon as they arrive, Azula uses the last bits of her strength to light a fire for her to sit next to. The warmth of the flames allowed her muscles to relax, and it was the best she had felt all day.

Sokka knew that there was at least two hours until supper, so he couldn't give her much to eat at this moment. He went with his best judgment and start a fire for the tea instead of asking if Azula could. He watched as the water boiled, and he started to prepare the tea. It only took a few more moments before it was done, and he went to give it to her. He walked over and saw Azula sleeping quietly in front of the fire. He didn't even notice the small smile that grew on his face as he looked at her. This was the first time Sokka ever saw Azula look peaceful. Even when she was sleeping before, she looked like she could take his head off. This was completely different, she looked soft like she couldn't hurt anything.

"Azula, you might want some tea, it'll help the cough," Sokka tried to wake her up quietly, but she didn't stir at all. He tried again and still got no response from Azula and decided to leave it. He could always heat it up again.

Azula slept through supper and Sokka helped her into bed as soon as it was over. He was surprised at how light she was in his arms, and she snored exactly how you would expect a princess to snore. Once she was in bed, he decided to pick up some of his paintings. There wasn't many activities that he could do since it got dark early and freezing even earlier. He stayed inside, right outside the bedroom and painted what came to mind. It took the warrior a few sketches and brush changes to realize that he was painting a woman that looked strikingly like Azula. He took in every detail and realized that he was indeed painting Azula. He stopped and put his painting things away as the realization weighed on him. Quickly, Sokka left his igloo quietly, hoping he could find a logical reason for why the first thing he wanted to paint was Azula.