Azula did not miss any of the fanfare as the villagers finished the preparations for the festival that afternoon. There were people everywhere as they set up stands and decorations around the village. She had rarely seen the preparations for such things living in the palace. She didn't usually go to the festival anyway, not in recent years. Not like she wanted to. Azula didn't have time to stand and look awkwardly when there was always improvements for her nations to be made.
"Are you excited for the festival?" She heard from behind, and she rolled her eyes as she turned around. Her face softened a bit when she saw Gran-Gran standing behind her, the elder's eyebrow raised as she looked at her.
"I'm not going." Azula says simply.
"Not going? It's the spring festival, the best time of the year. I'm sure Sokka would be happy to see you there." Gran-Gran tells her and Azula chuckles.
"I doubt that. And if so, Sokka will survive without me. I have better things to do." Azula sneers as the anxiety builds up in her body. They didn't want her there and she didn't understand why they insisted on pretending that they did. Gran-Gran gives her a soft look and places a hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort the girl.
"Still, I hope to see you there." Gran-Gran tells her before heading over to the food display.
No, she doesn't, Azula thought.
Azula took one last look at the festival preparations and walked in the direction of the library. She didn't need to go to the festival, she'd be fine by herself.
She always was.
Sokka walked around the festival, relishing in the food that brought him comfort. These were things that he missed out on as he was travelling the world, things that he hadn't thought of in so long. The sun shining made it even better as he walked from stall to stall, mingling with people he hadn't seen in years. He moved around until he was full and probably spoken to the whole village as the hours went by. He looked around and he noticed that he hadn't seen Azula around at all. She was easy to spot surprisingly despite her skin nearly blending in with the snow that surrounded them. Her black hair and amber eyes stood out in any crowd and he missed them.
It was odd to him. He wanted to see Azula here. He wanted her to have this experience. He truly thought that if she just tried to get to know people and let people know her, things could be better for her. He also wanted to show off his culture. Of course she believed her country was the best but that didn't stop him from wanting to prove her wrong. He did one more round of the stalls and when he decided he was sure that she was nowhere to be found, he went to see where she could be. He checked his igloo and found it empty. He asked around for a while before it hit him.
The library.
He took off in that direction and let out a sigh of relief when he saw Azula sitting at her usual table with a scroll in front of her. A chuckle left his mouth and her head shoots up from her scroll and she turns in her seat.
"What is so funny?" She glared at him before directing her eyes to her reading.
"You're the only person I know that would rather be in the library over a festival." He tells her and she scoffs at him.
"I wasn't invited," she says curtly. They both know it's a lie.
"Azula..." he gives her a knowing look and she doesn't respond, "C'mon, it's fun. There's food and games and people telling stories. You like stories don't you, you're in the library everyday." He goes on with a smile, sitting down next to her. The festival would go late into the night so there was plenty of time for her to enjoy the festivities.
"No."
"No you don't like stories or-"
"No, I'm not going,"
"Do you just not like fun?" Azula rolled her eyes at the question.
At first, the question just sounded stupid but as she tried to think of an actual answer, she couldn't. She rarely ever had fun. She hasn't had fun in years. And if she was being completely honest, she didn't think she knew how to have fun, at least normal fun. Not the way Sokka was talking about. She was always training or fire bending or taking over Ba Sing Se or locked up. When she did have what she considers "fun", it was making people cry, manipulating them and learning about military strategies. All things that were pointless in the end. Azula frowned as the thought continued to weigh on her. Everyone around her seemed to be able to seamlessly fit in, have fun with each other and she was on the outside.
I guess I don't like fun, Azula concluded.
But she stayed silent. She didn't wanted to address it further.
"Please?" He says and her eyebrow raised.
"Are you begging?" A sigiture smirk was plastered on his face and he rolled his eyes.
Of course, that got her attention, Sokka thought.
"Azula," he groaned and she stood from her seat, carefully rolling up the scroll.
"What do I get if I go?" Her eyebrow raised again as she stood in front of him. She stared at him intensely and she watched as he nearly trembled in front of her.
"Ummm... entertainment?" His voice changed a pitch as he smiled nervously at her. He was really hoping to convince her.
Sokka couldn't explain why he wanted her to go so bad. Maybe he wanted to show her that people could be warm and accepting of her. Maybe he wanted to show Azula that her father was wrong, that people from other nations aren't a threat. Maybe it was because during the past few months, he started to find Azula charming. It didn't matter, he just knew she had to go with him.
Sokka wanted her to want to go with him.
"I get plenty of entertainment from the scrolls. With less human interaction." His smile drops at her response.
"You can try new foods!" The idea shot through his head to his mouth in an instant. She rolled her eyes at him
"I don't need to eat everything in sight like you," Azula snarks and he shakes his head.
"Can't you just...humor me. You only have to stay for an hour and then you can leave if you want," Sokka pleads and Azula stiffens. The more she thought about it, the more it made her anxious. People didn't like her, it was just how her life was. She didn't want to be the only one left out or pushed aside. She was tired of feeling that way, it was the reason she was here in the first place. And she didn't understand why he didn't see that. Why he wants her to come to this stupid festival so bad. He didn't even like her.
"You want me to come? This isn't something your grandmother put you up to?" She asks him and he nods fervently at her.
"Yes, I want you to come. And Gran-Gran wants you there too." Sokka promised her and she could feel her resolve failing her.
"Fine," it left her mouth in a mutter before she could second guess her decision.
"Yes!" The Water Tribesman exclaimed happily and Azula grimaced.
He's actually excited I agreed, Azula thought.
"Cmon, there's so much to show you." Sokka grabs Azula's hand and pulls her off into the direction of the center of the village. The princess almost instinctively pulled her hand away from his but as he continued to show her to his favorite booth, she felt comforted that he had kept his hand with hers.
Maybe he does want me here, Azula thought.
The first stop was, of course, the meat stand. He demanded she try the seal blubber jerky. Sokka chuckled as Azula's nose turned up at the smell of the snack. It took some more convincing but eventually Azula gave the jerky a try and was pleasantly surprised at the savory flavor. Sokka watched with amusement as Azula finished her serving almost as fast as he did. Despite how much she tried to eat like refined Princess to prove him wrong.
They moved on, Sokka excitedly showing off every water tribe delicacy he could find. Their usual bickering ensued as Azula mentioned how much better Fire nation festivals were. She never missed a chance to argue, nothing could compare to size and dramatics of the Fire Nation and while he could roll his eyes at her antics, there was something about watching Azula speak so passionately that drew him in. She knew so much, not just about the Fire Nation but places and traditions from around the world, even facts that he had little knowledge of. It just made it easier to understand how she took over Ba Sing Se at 14 years old.
Once they had tried all of the foods available to them, they moved on to some of the stands that held games and prizes. This quickly turned into a competition to see who could win the most prizes. Azula knew that out of everyone on the Avatar's team, the water tribe warrior would be the closest she would get to a strategic challenge. Something she desperately missed while being locked up in the asylum. Even when she was completely out of her mind, the people held with her didn't stand a chance against her.
"Sure, I can't bend but my swordsmanship is unbeatable." Azula nearly bursts out in laughter as he boasts about his skills.
"None of that matters if you're surrounded by flames. It is simply fact. Your sword still holds no chance against me."
"We'll see about that. If we were only using swords, you wouldn't stand a chance," she laughs again and he looks at her intently. He smiled, despite her clearly doubting his skills, because he had never heard her laugh like that. Of course, he'd heard her laugh before, she'd laugh with malice or sarcastically but he hadn't heard this once before. It was genuine somehow.
Since when did Azula make me smile, Sokka thinks to himself.
"What?" She asked and he blinks before taking her in again. Azula had a raised eyebrow as she stared at him, suspicion influencing her features.
"Nothing. Sorry, I was just thinking." He answers and she narrows her way had him, his nervous grin telling that it was something she wasn't going to find out.
"So when is this battle taking place?" Azula questioned, hoping to change the subject and subdue the nervousness that was rising with in her.
"As soon as I return to my sword! Prepare to to taste defeat," Sokka declares and Azula rolls her eyes at him.
"Sure, its okay to have dreams but that doesn't mean they'll come true," comes her reply and Sokka shakes his head before leading them off to a different area of the festival.
After exhausting every game stand they could, Sokka insisted they go listen to the stories being told. He found them seats right in front of the storytellers and from there they sat and listened along with the younger children sitting next to them. Azula was initially weary about listening to the stories, especially being surround by children.
The Princess was initially annoyed by the thought of listening to children's stories. She hadn't been a child for years. And she hadn't been treated like one for even longer. Still, she tried and ended up liking the stories she heard. Of course they were folk tales that had no evidence for the whimsical events that took place in the stories.
I wonder if these were the type of stories Zuko heard from mother, the thought fluttered sadly across her mind and she frowned, hoping to quickly get rid of it.
They continued to listen to the stories and Azula found herself paying closer attention to them. Each one was different and varying in content but also followed the same format. Something easy and light to follow. By time the third story she was completely invested. With that came a slew of questions from Azula and Sokka's irritation.
"You sound like a kid," he finally tells her and she scoffs at him.
"I do not. The stories have unanswered questions, there are pieces missing," she explains and he chuckles at her.
"The answer isn't always clear cut. The stories are more for the message that they spread to people," he tells her pridefully. Her interest in the stories was what he was looking for, what he wanted to do tonight. Sokka wanted to show Azula that she could appreciate other nations beyond their military tactics and bending forms. She looks at him, clearly thinking about something before she nods.
"Then what is the message of this story?" Azula asked and Sokka freezed as he took in her question.
What is the message? His thought echoed through his mind, something he hadn't thought about in years. He hadn't heard this story in a while, with traveling and building an entire city, he was busy and didn't visit home enough. He thought back to her question and smiled when he thought of the answer.
"The siblings in this family learn to appreciate each other after almost losing each other. They realize that not even the frigid ocean could keep them apart when they worked together." Sokka explains the story queitly so the children around could still figure it out for themselves. Azula sat still for a moment paying attention to the last bit of the story while Sokka's explanation came to fruition. She knew that there was more to the story than what Sokka summed up. It was missing the spiritual polar bear dogs and the constant bickering the character's had, but he was also missing the park where she felt out of place at the end. What was she supposed to take from this? Kiss Zuzu's feet while he called her insane, beg for his forgivness that he would never give?
Maybe you could start by not calling him 'Zuzu', The voice was quiet but the words were loud enough.
"My mom used to tell me these stories all the time. I probably have them memorized by now. This was wasn't my favorite growing up, especially when Katara was annoying. Though I'm sure you know the feeling. Zuko said your mother used to tell you guys stories all the time." Sokka explains and Azula's blood runs cold.
What is his angle?Why was he talking about this? Azula thought. She didn't understand what he was trying to do by bringing up her wretched mother and brother.
"I wouldn't know anything about that," the mutter left her mouth and he turned back to look at her.
"What do mean? He said that Ursa would-"
"I don't care about what he said," Sokka's mouth snaps shut at her outburst. He could see the fire in his eyes and he knew that something had changed. It hit him like a ton of bricks and he looked at her with soft eyes. Talking about her mother did not bring out the joyous reaction it would have with Zuko.
"Azula, I-"
"I'm ready to leave now." She declares and he frowns, knowing that everything had been turned upside down.
He thought that they had finally reached some common ground.
"Please just listen to the-"
"I don't care about these stupid childish stories or the dumb peasant festival," Azula ignores the look of hurt as she turns to walk off in the direction of the igloo.
What just happened? Sokka thought with a frown.
Sokka awkwardly sat for breakfast next to Azula. After last night, he didn't know to approach her. He kept seeing other side of Azula that was nothing like the girl he thought he knew.
Not that you knew her all that well to begin with, Sokka thinks to himself.
"May I be excused?" He heard Azula ask. He had barely touched his food so he wrapped up his tights about the woman who had been next to him. He watched as she left the room and he began to finally pick at his food. When he finished his meal, he made a beeline to the library where Azula would be.
"Azula can we talk?" He approached her table quietly and if looks could kill, he'd be below ground.
"No," her simple answer felt like dangers to his ears. He had messed up last night just when they were getting along. He was starting to like her company and thought that maybe when they returned to the Fire Nation, she wouldn't have to be left out anymore.
"I am sorry, I shouldn't have brought up your mother or Zuko." Sokka says and winced at the scoff that left her mouth.
"Yes because we are so similar," the sarcasm dripped from her sentence and Sokka sighed.
"We both love combat and, um, competition. We are strong and fierce and uh-"
"I don't care," his thoughts came to a screeching halt.
"Azula,"
"I don't care about what you think we have in common. I don't care about what you have to say. I don't care about this dumb tribe or the people on it. Especially you," Azula hissed at him and watches his face crumple. That was something she was used to, but the feeling she felt, that was different. The relief wasn't there, the pleasure wasn't there. There was only an uncomfortable pressure in her stomach and a lump in her throat.
"What is wrong with you?" He asks her, his voice harsh and she snorts at the question. It was a loaded one.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"You know what? Zuko was right, you don't want to be happy, you don't know how to," Sokka sneers at her and he is well acquainted with the feeling in his gut that makes him nauseous. Her face faltered for not even a second but it was enough to turn his stomach.
"I'm feeling quite joyous right now, so I don't know about that,"
"Guess he was right about the lying too,"
The scroll quickly snaps shut and screeching from Azula's chair scraping the floor fill the silence in the room. She stared him down and he holds his stare with her. She pulls her parka on quickly, feeling what resolve she had left fading. She wanted to set him ablaze, she wanted to get off of this stupid iceberg, she wanted her old life back.
That's not an option, she hated this thought. She wanted to go back, she wanted to start over, she wanted...
To be happy above all else.
And the peasant was infuriating because he...he was right. She didn't know how to be happy. She hadn't been truly happy in so long that it felt like something she'd lost forever. Gone to her and the world she lived in
The Princess makes haste and leaves the water tribeman standing in the same spot. Sokka wanted to shout as he watched her leave. It made zero sense to him how she could act like this. He was trying to get to know her, he even wanted to but she seemed to have everything under lock and key, never sharing with anyone. He was beyond frustrated with her, with the situation. And he wasn't even able to say what he wanted to say to her. Sokka pulls the hood of his parka up and rushes out to follow the woman back to the igloo.
"You make it very hard to even try to like you." Those were the first words Sokka said as he entered his igloo. She was rude and mean, or she was silent, completely shut down. There was no wiggle room with her. He'd see one glimmer of the kind, happy person she could be, like the way her eyes lit up as the Fire flakes crackled on her tongue yesterday. She laughed at some of his jokes despite how hard she was trying not to. She had a sense of humor he would have never imagined, and she only let it show for seconds at a time. Even Gran-Gran spoke positively of her. Why couldn't she just show that all the time, why did she have to be distant all the time. Why did she push everyone away.
"Then I'm doing what I'm supposed to," the words came out muttered but Sokka heard every syllable.
"Why would you do that?" He was confused, everything about her was confusing.
"Why not," She shrugged it off as she pulled up her hood on her parka. She knew she should have never gone out with him, she should have stayed put and waited for her way back home. This was not the time to be hanging out with Zuko's friends, for all she knows, this could have been their plan all along. She had let herself fall for it once, she let herself think that they could be friends, and she was stupid for it. She didn't have time to waste with someone who was destined to hurt her somehow.
Like everyone before him.
So no new friends, no friends at all.
She had already revealed too much.
She had finished buttoning up her parka, avoiding the look of sadness on Sokka's face as she grabbed her mittens. She knew that the wheels in his head were turning, and he was probably thinking of any way to prove her wrong. He moved up and snatched the mittens from her hands and was met with the glare that was so familiar to him. This chills still ran down his spine when it was pointed in his direction.
"Have you lost your savage mind?" He felt 16 again, watching this girl devastate his team physically and verbally. It hurt to even think it, but she was the smartest person he had ever met. It only took two seconds for his confidence in what he was going to say dwindled, and he felt stuck in front of her. She glared him down, and he took a step back, his hands up in the air.
"Look, Azula I just... I just think that if I were in your position, I would be very lonely. I don't know what I would do, and I think I would want someone to be a friend. That's all." He explains and her eyes darken and the room heats up enough for Sokka to wish he didn't have on his Parka and snow boots.
"So you think I need your pity?" She questions and he immediately shakes his head.
"No, Azula, it's sympathy. You do know there's a difference between the two right," He tells her, his voice sad and soft as he looked at the Fire Princess. Azula simply grabs her mittens from his hands and leaves Sokka in the igloo.
The pair seemed to stay in separate areas of the tribe for the remainder of the day. Sokka stayed with the men, training some young boys and preparing for the next fishing trip. Azula worked with Gran-Gran as she prepared meals for the night and the next day. It was a decision against her better judgement and once she stepped in the kitchen area, she felt her heart race as all eyes were on her. The women stared at her like a zoo exhibit as she watched over Gran-Gran's shoulder learning the inter-workings of her cooking. It was the only place where she could just be quietly, well, as quietly as the people would let her be. People often did this when Zuko or Aang were in town, the people would be all over them, following them everywhere they went. She didn't expect anyone to treat her that way, people trailing her feet as she followed Gran-Gran through the water tribe village.
It was a long day of fishing, and he wanted to spend his night painting. He found it relaxing and thought it was enough for him to calm down at the end of the night. He realized that all of his supplies were still in his igloo, not in his father's where he was sleeping. A groan left his mouth at the thought of interacting with Azula again. There was clearly something weird between them, an awkward friendship that they didn't know how to navigate. Sokka shook his head, his hair falling in front of his face and sighed as he began to walk to his igloo. He walked up to the entrance and called out to warn Azula that he was coming in, and he froze in his spot.
He saw her laying in bed, the blanket covering her head. It was unusual for her to go to bed this early. They've had nights where they've stayed at the dinner table later than this. He thought he would ignore it, grab his things and paint somewhere else. He moved around the igloo as quietly as he could, gathering his things and putting them in his bag as he went along. Sokka even tried to grab the easel but after the first try and nearly tripping over the leg, he gave up. His feet moved carefully across the room, and he nearly made it out of the door until his body froze.
"Stop."
It was only a whimper, but it's traveled through his soul, and it was nearly paralyzing.
"Azula, are you awake?"
He wasn't met with an answer.
"Please don't take my bending," this time it was a cry that came from behind him and her dropped his bag at the doorway. He moved over to Azula's bed and saw that she was still sleeping.
A nightmare.
Sokka thought Azula would say she's above having them. He didn't know if he should just leave or wake her up. The warrior tried to walk away but the more he heard, the worse he felt. The bag fell to the ground as Sokka's feet took back further into the igloo. He almost tripped over the blanket and that was the first time he had noticed it fell off Azula and onto the ground. Her face was twisted in anguish, her body shivering, tears leaving tracks in her cheeks and she wasn't even awake.
"Hey, Azula you gotta wake up." Sokka said firmly, he expected the woman to be a light sleeper but Azula never missed a chance to prove someone wrong. His words weren't enough, but he didn't know how she'd react if he touched her.
But he hoped it wasn't worse than what was going on in her mind.
"I'm sorry," Sokka grimmaced as those words left her mouth. As bad as the thought may be, he didn't think she would ever say them. "I promise I'll do better," the sob was louder than her previous whimpers. "Zuko, please don't send me back there,"
Sokka could not take it anymore. As time went after the war, he realized that it shouldn't have been put on their shoulders. Including Azula's. Sokka sat on the bed and placed his hands gently on her shoulders, and before he could even speak, her eyes shot open, and she sat up in bed. Azula trembled in front of him and quickly wiped away the tears that were still on her cheeks.
"Get out." Her eyes focused on the grip she had on her shirt.
"Azula I just wanna make sure you're okay..."
"No you're here to laugh at me, isn't it pathetic that I'm scared of my dreams." She grits out between her teeth and Sokka immediately shakes his head, and he takes a risk, slowly placing his hands on top of hers. The heat that engulfed his hand was unbearable, almost like holding a hot coal. He held his hand firm on hers and within a few seconds her hand cooled down.
"I'm here because I want to make sure you are okay," Sokka told her firmly, walking right into her firewall that she surrounded herself with. He knew there was something more behind it. He thought she might be so much happier if she let it out.
The silence between them sat for a while, Sokka's hand never left hers as they sat next to each other. Sokka had so many questions he wanted to ask her. There was so much he wanted to know. That fear he had when he was a teen turned into intrigue as he listened to Azula breathe next to him. Back then he thought he knew everything, who was good and who was bad, looking only in white and black but he feels like that gray area had just slapped him across the face. He wished he could ask those questions but based on what happened last time, it wouldn't be received well. They hadn't even recovered from yesterday's blow up and he didn't even know how to approach her after their argument earlier that day.
"Can you leave now?" The question was quiet and so was Sokka's answer as he nodded and left her alone in the dark igloo.