Azula thought school would be brilliant; her father had told her that as a Princess of the Fire Nation, she would excel in her studies, and would be lauded and adored by the other girls at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls for her achievements and for her position as member of the royal family, which was steeped in a long history of great figures, acclaimed for their bending, martial and political skills. The expectations were high, and she knew she wouldn't disappoint him; she was, however, disappointed in the experience itself.

Though she had received the respect she expected from the other girls, and only a small show of her bending would be necessary to put anyone in line, she didn't think it would be necessary; she had the respect and obedience she had been told she would receive, however adoration was a little hard to come by. Nobody seemed very interested in her, at least for who she was as an individual, but in what danger she might pose to them. It was certain she could have any girls who annoyed her expelled, if she wanted, but that wasn't what she had wanted.

Azula had expected to find respect and perhaps friends, allies that she could utilise in future as she grew older, and would have to join the ranks of the royal family, both as a representative of the Fire Lord, but as his servant. Thinking of herself as a servant made Azula feel disgusted, knowing the kinds of levels that servants stooped to, but even her father framed it in that way. He told her that they were all servants of the Fire Lord, and that they were to make sure his will was enacted. She didn't really understand what that meant, and it was of little concern to her as she sat alone at lunchtime, wondering if anyone would try to talk to her.

When she came home, the Princess was not happy, and didn't feel like doing her sets; she had not failed in the sense that she feared, thinking that she might slip up when showing her father her sets, and he would scold her, as he usually did to Zuko; she had been scolded in the past, and she certainly didn't like it, and that was why she tried to perfect her bending. Perfecting sets was easy, but perfecting the art of conversation and socialising would be a lot harder; her father would not scold her for that, because it wasn't necessary for her to master being someone's friend. He hadn't even told her to make friends, he simply said 'make yourself some allies', and left it at that.

She didn't know what to make of it, and being a young girl, she knew that asking others about this would only give her pity, so she decided that she would figure it out herself; talking to herself wouldn't do much good, seeing that Azula talking to Azula would only leave her in the same place she started at. She knew how she ought to be treated, but not how she ought to treat a girl her age, at school, where she would not see them as servants, nor as strangers or enemies; they were somewhere in between, and that felt unusual and alien to her.

When she heard a knock on her bedroom door, she feared it might be her father, coming to ask her how her day was, and then, if she had made any 'allies', as he had put it; she nervously placed her hands together, before straightening her posture on her bed, turning her head slightly so she was looking at the door, "Who is it?" she asked, trying to sound as normal as she could when speaking.

"Lu Ten." her cousin identified himself, and she almost sighed with relief, but instead, just smiled, glad it was him showing up, out of all people.

She almost leapt up off of her bed, and approached the door of her bedroom, before she pulled it open, eyeing her cousin, who looked at her with an intrigued face, "Something tells me you don't like school." he deduced, the Princess's eyes widening.

"Wow." she gasped, "You're pretty good at guessing, Lu Ten." she admitted, making him laugh.

"Oh, thanks." he grinned at her, before placing a hand on his shoulder, "Seriously, I do wanna know how your first day was. Was it fun?"

"School isn't fun." she admitted honestly, "Showing off the facts I know from you, Dad and Uncle was nearly fun."

"Nearly?" he asked, almost scoffing at her comment, "Were they not aghast when they realised that you knew everything there was to know about firebending and the history of the war?"

"Well, I don't know everything." she conceded, speaking quietly as she admitted it, "Not yet."

"You're pretty smart, Azula. I'm sure you'll learn all about those things." he noted, before crossing his arms, his expression suggesting he was a little suspicious, "So, why didn't you like it?"

"People are... well, they don't like me. I mean... no, they give me respect, but they don't want to be my friend." she admitted what she had realised, and he made a small pout, perhaps pitying her.

She turned away, "Urgh, I knew you'd do that." she growled, her cousin placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Zula, I just want to look out for you. Zuko and I had the same problem when we started school too, trust me." he assured her, making the Princess raise a brow.

"Zuzu too?" she mumbled, "Does he even have friends?"

"I don't know if he has any close friends." he admitted, "But he couldn't have any without trying. Getting friends isn't as easy as waiting for people to bow toward you and beg to be your friend. You're a Princess, not their master."

"Yeah, that's the teacher." she noted, before shaking her head, "So... I've got to do something. But what? Dad told me I needed to make allies... but I don't even know what he means. Do I have to find people to do my work for me?"

"No, that's plagiarism." he warned her, the Princess furrowing a brow.

"What's- oh, okay. So, does the Fire Lord do plagiarism?" she asked, making him snicker, before shaking his head.

"No, I mean schoolwork. If other people do your schoolwork for you, that's plagiarism." he explained, the Princess furrowing a brow.

"Uh okay." she nodded, before remembering what she had asked, "How do I make friends?"

"With effort." he simply put it, before raising a finger to his chin, "I mean, it's a little complicated. How about we sit down?" he suggested, and Azula nodded, stepping on over to her bed, and he sat down beside her.

"So, what's complicated?" she asked, wanting him to get on with it and reveal his secret knowledge.

"You need to find people who you can cooperate with. Friendship isn't about service and duty, like a child and their parent, or a soldier and his commander. You're meant to be equal... I mean, it might be hard because you're a Princess, but you've got to treat them like they're your equal."

"So... like Zuko?" she asked, unsure if Zuko really was her equal, given he was older, but then, she was a better firebender; her cousin just seemed amused by it, and let out a chuckle.

"Zuko's your brother, so you're expected to get along with him. You get to choose who your friends are." he explained, "So, you've got to find people you can like. What do you like in a person?"

"Uh... they do things for me." she gave the first thing that came to mind.

"Okay, but remember what I said." he raised a finger, "If that's what you want, you need to do things for them too."

"But I'm the Princess. That's dumb. They need to do things for me."

"Okay, okay. Are there other things you like about people?"

"That they're smart." she gave another thought, before pointing at him, "Like you."

He chuckled a little before turning his gaze away, "I'm not that smart."

"You are!" she declared in defiance of his claim, "You know way more than me, or Zuzu. You know so many things, and you can firebend good too. You're like... what I want to be."

"Aw, thanks." he smiled at her, seeming to appreciate her words, "So... you like people being smart. So, maybe you should look for people who show that they are witty and quick, like you."

"Yeah, that's a good one." she raised a finger to her chin, "I like... when they know how to talk to people."

"So, sociable people?"

"No, no, they can... make people believe them." she explained.

"Good liars?" he asked, the Princess shaking her head.

"Not lying, just... what's the word?" she asked, unsure what she was trying to recall; it was a word she had heard her father use before, but only in passing.

"Persuading?" he asked, the Princess nodding.

"Yes, yes! That's the one." she confirmed, "I want friends who can persuade for me."

"That would be helpful." he noted, "Persuading others can help you make more friends, if that's what you want."

"I want them to like me." she declared, the Prince nodding.

"Well, if you find people like that, then you'll have no problem, I'm sure of it."


Azula was relieved when she finally made sight of the coast, knowing that she had reached her destination; her Royal Barge awaited her, along with the utilities and luxuries she had onboard. Though it wasn't her main priority, she was looking forward to going to the spa, and getting a wash; she knew she would need it after her days away, and she was equally looking forward to enjoying a proper bed once again. She was also looking forward to getting closer to the Avatar, wherever he was, and giving him back his annoying Water Tribe friend; though she would admit that Sokka was no moron, he certainly was an infuriating person to talk to, primarily because of that wit he used so effectively to almost interrogate her.

She was in no way afraid of him from a martial perspective, given she was sure she could beat him in a fight, even without her bending, but that didn't mean that she could block out every word he uttered and ignore all the questions he sent her way. He was a whole lot less cryptic than her uncle, which she appreciated, given that specific aspect of Iroh's wisdom-giving was more than infuriating. He seemed to be just as happy about reaching the coast as she was, and she could tell that her guards were also relieved by their arrival, knowing that they could return to relaxing on the ship without the worry of Earth Kingdom soldiers or assassins attacking them. The Water Tribesman was probably glad he was closer to seeing his friends, and she was glad she would be getting rid of him.

"Finally." he smiled as they rode on down the hill towards the coast, now on the final stretch to the nearby navy base, which she could see smokestacks emanating from in the distance.

"Well, at least we haven't been attacked." one of her guards commented, "They must either be scared of us, or afraid without their tough leader."

"Sanyan is dead, and they're probably on the run now." Azula gave her opinion on the matter, "They probably realise that I'd kill them if I got my hands on them, so they're going to stay away."

She noticed that Sokka didn't comment on that, which she took as an indirect approval of her decision; killing her uncle's would-be assassins was something that she thought some people might take issue with, especially coming from another nation where they weren't as willing to sacrifice the lives of others for the greater good.

"That's smart of them." he simply noted, before narrowing his eyes, "They weren't smart to attack that camp, though."

"You can't begin to imagine how much they would have been paid." she warned him, knowing that her father had access to the royal treasury with which to pay the assassins.

"A lot." he guessed, "Enough to buy a big steel ship and turn into a palace." he suggested, making her raise a brow.

"Well, I already have one." she told him, the Water Tribesman pouting slightly.

"Rich people." he mumbled under his breath, before shaking his head, "So, is the cook on your ship any good?"

"You're not getting my food." she warned him, "You'll get the navy rations like everyone else." she stressed to Sokka, whose disenchanted expression only grew more sour.

"And I saved her life." he grumbled under his breath, the Princess scoffing before she raised a finger.

"And if you were stuck with the others, what would you be eating?"

"Whatever we could find." he explained rather simply, before grimacing, "Okay... I can see what you mean." he conceded, "Starving is something I'd like to avoid."

"Good, now shut up about it." she warned him, before whipping the reins of her mongoose lizard, prodding it to move quicker as they made their way down the road, winding down into some thin woodland, reminding her of the fight she had against Sanyan the first time.

She could tell that the Water Tribesman was thinking about the same thing by the distinctive shift in his expression; he was afraid of being in that situation again. Being a non-bender against someone like that would have been utterly terrifying, and Azula herself, though she refused to admit it, was afraid of the man her uncle had put an end to. She wished she could have done it herself, just to prove that her father's plan couldn't face up to her strength, but in the end, her lightning generation had faltered. Soon enough, she would try and work on her skills again, and hopefully, she would be able to make lightning again.

"That fight was scary." he admitted, after a long silence amongst the group.

"The first one?" one of the guards asked, before turning his head away, "Some of ours might still be in recovery on the ship."

Azula felt a shred of guilt, knowing that if she had had her abilities up to scratch, she would have been able to destroy Sanyan with a well-aimed lightning bolt to the chest; her men wouldn't have been injured, and she could have perhaps taken Aang back into her custody, and with it, avoided the present chase she was dealing with. She had no idea where the young Avatar was, but she was sure he couldn't be that far away; they wouldn't just abandon their friend- Aang just didn't seem like the kind of person to do that.

"I thought he was going to kill us." he admitted, "But you guys showed up. Thanks." he simply acknowledged the effort the guards made, which surprised her; he didn't like the Fire Nation, and he didn't seem to like them either, even if he was willing to converse with them.

"Did he just thank us?" one of her men asked, scoffing at the surprising response, "That's snow savages for you. The moment you're nice to them, they roll over like a dog."

"Heyǃ" he growled with frustration, "I'm just being honest. You guys saved us, there's no need to be a dick about it."

"You're the one who got yourself caught." one of them retorted, making the Princess roll her eyes.

"Stop arguing or I will start setting people's heads on fire." she demanded, the guards falling silent, as did Sokka, who shook his head, seeming annoyed that they were not respecting the thanks he gave them; she understood why they didn't, and agreed with their reasoning- the young warrior wasn't their friend, and they needed to stress that point.

He crossed his arms as sighed, before turning his attention ahead, "So, navy rations." he mumbled, "How do they taste?"

"Fine." one of the Imperial Firebenders replied after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Spicy?" he asked, making the Princess roll her eyes, having had enough of his questions about food specifically.

"Just shut up about the food." she demanded, "Just be glad you're being fed at all." she suggested, before glancing back up ahead; as they were drawing nearer to the navy base, she made sight of some men who were standing by on the road, guarding what seemed like a checkpoint.

They looked at her with confusion, and got out of her way as she neared them; they scanned the group, and obviously were paying attention to the fact they were riding mongoose lizards instead of driving in with her tank train.

"Uh, your highness. Your, uh, craft... has it been lost?"

"The assassin destroyed it." she clarified, before glancing up ahead, "Well, am I going to be allowed through?"

"Of course." the soldier assured her, "You and your men may go through with your... uh, prisoner."

"I'm not a-" Sokka began, the Princess raising her left hand up to hush him.

"We will." she simply replied to the soldier, before whipping the reins of her steed, which moved on forward with no delay.

The others continued to ride on after her as she made her way down the road, approaching the cleared land which surrounded the navy base, surrounded itself by a tall steel-plated wall, presumably to stop earthbenders from attacking it. She glanced up ahead past it, and could see the smoke from the engine of her ship, which must have been running to ensure that the heating and internal water pumps continued working; there was only one smokestack, indicating her ship was the only one at the port, though she wasn't expecting any others to show up. She assumed the navy would be preoccupied looking for the Avatar, whose sky-bison they might have been tracking from Kyoshi Island.

As they approached the base itself, she noted there were a few soldiers standing outside of it, and one of them seemed to be an officer, and a relatively high ranking one at that; he was speaking with a few men, and it took some time for her to realise that one of them was the helmsman of her ship. She didn't even know his name, simply referring to him as 'helmsman', but she recognised his face, with gray hair and a trimmed goatee and moustache. The soldiers' attention turned to the Princess as she approached the group, and their expressions shifted to ones of surprise; they seemed lost for words as she neared them, and saw that they were rather uneasy, though about what specifically, she couldn't be sure.

"Good morning." she addressed them, "I have returned to take my ship." she explained, "I have a prisoner with me, and will need to be leaving at once so I can track down the Avatar."

"Um, your highness." the highest ranking of the group stepped forward to address her, "You don't need to find the Avatar."

"Oh..." her eyes widened, before she glanced at Sokka for a moment, "Did he get caught?"

"No." he shook his head, before gesturing further along, past the base toward the dock, "He's on the deck of your ship, waiting for you."

"S-sorry, what?" the Water Tribe teen gasped, "He can't be that stupid."

"It's not stupid." Azula retorted, "He obviously understands we mean no harm toward him, or you." she argued, before placing her hands together, "This is good news... it makes this all a whole lot easier."

"Why... why would the Avatar come to you?" the officer asked her, "It's stupendous. He's an enemy of our nation."

She tensed up, realising that she'd have to inform them of what her uncle had decided, "No, no he isn't. The Fire Lord has decided the Avatar does not pose a threat to the Fire Nation anymore."

"Wh-what?" the officer gasped, "Are you- how?"

"How?" she raised a brow, "He is the Fire Lord. He decides what is right." she explained what she thought would be self-indicative for any person in the service of her nation's military, "Now, has the Avatar been taken captive... or are you just letting him sit there?"

"He hasn't attacked us... so we've just left him there. He didn't seem intent on leaving, so we decided to wait out for his next move." the officer explained, before gesturing in the direction of her Royal Barge, "There's a number of soldiers ready to face him if he tries to threaten us."

"Air Nomads are pacifists." she stressed, "There's no way that's going to happen, unless you attack him." she warned, before whipping the reins of her mongoose lizard, prodding it into moving further ahead.

She continued to ride along around the exterior of the base, before she finally made sight of her ship; on the deck was the Avatar's sky-bison, and she could hear the Water Tribesman behind her gasp; he must have been shocked by his friend's decision, as unlike him, he had no idea of Azula's intentions. The young Air Nomad was just lucky she was being ordered by her uncle to treat him as a friend and ally, something that she honestly preferred over the thought of actually having to fight him. She had heard what Sokka said about the young Avatar's abilities, and she was glad she wasn't going to have to deal with that, at least in the sense that she would avoid being the target of his practically divine powers.

They made their way to the dock, where she could see a few soldiers, obviously ready to face the Avatar, if need be, who moved out of her way, seemingly surprised by her return, and probably, the fashion in which had come back to the base. They didn't comment, simply letting her and her Imperial Firebenders move on past, down the pier toward the part of the ship where they would board; part of the vessel's hull was to open up, and allow the mongoose lizards inside. The Avatar must have made sight of them, because he jumped up into the air, using his glider to soar down toward them, before landing on the ground.

"Sokkaǃ" he grinned at his friend, "You're alright."

"Uh, yeah, I am." he confirmed, "Why did you come to her ship? That's just dangerous."

"Well, Katara and I didn't know where you were, and were going to ask Bumi for help to get you back, but we figured that Azula would take you captive, so we decided to fly back here and wait for you." he explained, the Princess raising a brow.

"You went back to Omashu?" she asked, the young Avatar nodding.

"Yeah, Bumi said you two talked."

"Not much." she retorted, crossing her arms, "As glad as I am not having to chase you down, I am a little confused why you thought it was a smart idea to come here. The Fire navy will know you're here, and now they'll come after you." she warned him, the young Avatar furrowing a brow.

"But your uncle is the Fire Lord, and he doesn't have an issue with me... that's what Bumi said." he clarified, placing his hands together, "So, we're all good now. I can go master the elements, and you can... uh, do whatever you like." he suggested, making her roll her eyes.

"So, he didn't mention the conspiracy against the Fire Lord that may encompass swathes of the Fire Nation military, and thus, pit much of them against you, the Avatar?" she asked him rhetorically, just wanting to emphasise the danger he was in.

"Oh." he mumbled, looking at her with wide eyes, before his expression became more nervous, "So... this wasn't a good idea."

"No, it wasn't." she confirmed, "However, it does give me the opportunity to tell you what I can do for you." she clarified, "Or rather, what you can do for the Fire Nation."

"Master the elements, yeah I've got it." he assured her, Azula rolling her eyes.

"Can you tell him plainly?" she asked Sokka, who cringed slightly, before turning to face his friend.

"We need to not get caught by the 'bad Fire Nation', so the 'good Fire Nation' can beat them with your help, once you are powerful enough." he explained, the young Avatar narrowing his eyes.

"We can't get caught. We've got Appa."

"What happened on Kyoshi Island would say otherwise." the Water Tribe teen warned him, "She caught you easily. If somebody with... less kind intentions decides to come after us... we're not going to have a fun time. Appa could get hurt, we all could get caught... and I'd rather prefer not to rely on her bailing us out."

"I don't want to do that either." she gave her opinion, before gesturing up toward the ship, "So, if you wouldn't mind, get on your sky-bison, and start flying to the North Pole." she suggested, though given her tone, the Avatar could just take it as a command.

"I- uh- I thought we were going to have tea." he mumbled, scratching the back of his scalp nervously.

She rolled her eyes, knowing that her strategy of trying to ease the Avatar into his captivity had perhaps backfired, now that he was presuming she'd just hand him out some tea, like he was an old friend showing up at her house demanding courtesy.

"Oh, he thought." she turned to Sokka, amused by his forwardness for just a moment, before she straightened her expression, "I'm not running a tea shop, Avatar." she chided him, before gesturing up to the deck, "Just get back to your sky-bison."

"I'm sorry about running away." he admitted, "I mean, I wanted to get away, but if I knew you weren't going to do anything bad to me... then I might have just stayed."

"Stayed?" the Water Tribesman scoffed at his words, "Katara was worried sick. Both of us thought she was torturing youǃ"

"I wasn't." Azula stressed, not wanting to be accused of something she definitely hadn't done.

"Yeah, I know that." he agreed with her, "But that's beside the point. We couldn't just let you be her prisoner."

"But aren't you Azula's prisoner?"

"No." he shook his head, "I helped kill the assassin for her, so I'm her guest." he clarified, making the young Avatar's eyes widen.

"The mind-explosion guy?"

"Yes." he confirmed, "Supposedly he was called Sanyan. The Fire Lord got him with a lightning bolt."

"Oh." he gasped, surprised by the turn of events, "I guess that's good news. So your Uncle is okay." he turned to Azula, who crossed her arms.

"Barely." she countered, "I'm surprised that he made it out of my tank-train alive." she explained, his eyes widening.

"You got attacked." he realised, before smiling, "At least everyone's alright."

"Some of my guards were injured. They're probably still recovering at back at camp, not to mention all the soldiers who were hit by those explosions." she explained the situation for what it was, the young Avatar grimacing.

"At least... at least you stopped him." he gave his conclusion, clearly uneased by the suggestion of what had happened; his empathy for the Fire Nation soldiers was something she found interesting, though she didn't focus on that, deciding to gesture ahead, knowing that she needed to get onboard her ship.

"I need to get these mongoose lizards onboard, so get out of the way." she demanded, and with that, the young Avatar unfurled his glider once more, leaping up into the air to glide away, flying back around to land on the deck of her ship.

She led the group along the dock, moving all the way to end of it, where the mechanised plank was to lower down; one of her guards whistled out to get the attention of the men working on the bridge, and a few moments later, she heard a cranking noise, which was followed by a hiss of steam as the hydraulics began to operate. The mechanical plank lowered down, revealing the storage hold of her ship, and she immediately rode on inside, prodding the creature so that it moved down through the hold toward the pens in which the creatures were kept. She set it down in its pen, before she grabbed her bag of personal belongings off of the saddle, and slung it over her shoulder, before she walked out of the pen, pulling the metal gate shut.

She glanced toward the animal for a moment, and wondered if it would even appreciate the rest, or simply be annoyed by sitting in darkness. She began to pace on out of the storage hold, striding past Sokka, who seemed a little confused about where to go.

"Just lead it into a pen and shut the gate afterwards." she explained what he had to do, and he nodded, understanding her directions.

She paced toward the other side of the hold, where there was a doorway leading into the lower part of the hull, where her servants had their quarters. Once she reached that part of the ship, it was as simple as finding the nearest staircase to climb up a higher deck; she scaled the stairs with haste, and quickly reached the highest deck of the ship, below the open deck where the Avatar's sky-bison was sitting. She glanced along the hallway, where a few engineers were standing, chatting amongst themselves, though they quickly realised her presence, and straightened their postures as she walked past them. They bowed to her in respect, not daring to address her as she bee-lined straight down the hallway toward the staircase that led to the top deck. When she reached the top deck, she was immediately swarmed by servants, who obviously were eager to fulfil their duties.

"Your highness, would you require your things to be taken to your quarters?" one of them asked, and she nodded, giving them the bag, before they hurried off.

"Tea, your highness?" another asked, and she narrowed her eyes at the Avatar and his Water Tribe friend, who were standing nearby, both looking his way.

"Make it quick." she decided, and the servant bowed to her, before making their way down the stairs she had just climbed, presumably to go to the kitchen to make some.

"Would you desire some lunch, your highness?"

"Have the cooks make something. I won't be eating at once." she clarified, before flicking her hand up, "Leave me." she demanded, and with that, all the servants moved away, understanding her desire to be left alone with the two foreigners standing on the deck, soon to be joined by another; that was as soon as he found his way up, which wouldn't be that hard, in her opinion.

"So..." the Water Tribe girl mumbled, glancing at Aang for a moment, before she eyed Azula, "My brother's alright?"

"I haven't harmed him... the only people who tried to were the assassins after my uncle's life." she explained, crossing her arms, "I assume you remember when we all fought them."

"I tossed a rock at some of them." she recalled, making Aang snicker.

"Maybe you'd be a better earthbender." he joked, the girl shaking her head.

"I don't believe we've been introduced." Azula admitted, "Though you obviously know who I am, you're Sokka's sister, Katara, correct?"

"Yes." she confirmed, though her eyes were narrowed at her, seeming still suspicious of her intentions, "So, are you going to capture Aang again?"

"No." she clarified, "Though I'd prefer if he made it a little harder for himself to get caught. That'd make my job a whole lot easier."

"She doesn't want to catch me anymore." Aang assured his friend, before glancing her way, "But what do you want to do?"

"My uncle has ordered me to make sure you don't get caught by forces loyal to my father, and when the time comes, to teach you firebending."

"Sorry... teach him firebending?" Katara asked, sounding like she thought such a suggestion was crazy.

"I am not trying to make a joke." she retorted, "I have a far more refined sense of humour." she stressed, crossing her arms as she eyed the Avatar, "So, will you accept my offer?"

"Uh..." he mumbled, before glancing to his friend, who didn't seem pleased in the slightest, "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt having a master already." he conceded, "Thank you for... well, coming back with Sokka."

"I don't want him in my hands any longer than he has to be." she assured him, "That boy doesn't know when to shut up."

"Heh." Katara snickered, before nodding, "Well, we can agree on that."

"So... why does your uncle want you to teach me firebending?" Aang asked, somewhat nervous in his tone, "I mean, you seem like you're a good firebender and all, but I'd expect somebody... uh, older."

"I am more than capable of teaching you what you need to know." she raised a finger, "Though, I have not tried to teach anyone firebending before, I am certain my knowledge will be of use to you."

"That's great!" he grinned at her, the Princess turning her head, considering whether she should tell him what her uncle had; she didn't know if that would give her his trust, or just make things weird between them- she knew things were weird already, as he'd been her half-prisoner, half-guest, who ran away from her the first chance he got.

"Are you sure you want her to be your master, Aang?" Katara asked him, "She did take you prisoner."

"But she wasn't mean about it. I got food, tea and could do pretty much anything I liked." he argued in the Princess's favour, making her smirk, realising she'd won him over, and there was nothing the Water Tribe girl could do about it.

"Do you have an issue with my offer, Katara?" she questioned, the girl's expression shifting from an uneasy to an annoyed one.

"Why does that matter? Aang's the one who gets to decide." she explained, the Princess raising a brow.

"I am not in the business of making you my enemy." she put it as she saw it, before she glanced back, hearing footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Whew, that was a lot of stairs." Sokka commented, though she doubted it was in any way directed to her, or anyone else for that matter; he turned to face them all, and scrunched his lips up, "Ah... so are you acquainting yourselves?" he asked, perhaps in jest toward his sister, who clenched her fists.

"Why'd you have to ask for tea?" she asked Aang, who simply smiled.

"The people on this ship make good tea, what can I say?" he defended himself with a giddy grin, and Sokka chuckled, obviously deducing what had happened.

"Oh, so she did decide to let us have tea." he realised, "Peer pressuring a powerful firebender doesn't sound like a good idea, Aang." he warned her, the Princess struggling to hold back a laugh at his astute comment.

"He's right sometimes." she conceded under her breath, before she glanced toward him, "Did you have any parting words for my guards?" she asked, making him look at her as if that were an unusual thing to ask.

"No." he flatly denied doing that, "They don't deserve my thanks if they're just going to act like dicks to me." he crossed his arms, making her scoff.

"Pride before courtesy." she noted, shaking her head as she realised he really did remind her of her brother, "Oh, how dignified." she offhandedly added, making him raise a brow.

"Hey, you're not too kind yourself, your highness." he warned her, before striding on over to his friends, "So, are we going to go after we have this tea?"

"Uh, yeah." he nodded, "I don't want anybody unfriendly getting a chance to sneak up on us." he noted, the Water Tribe warrior tensing up for a moment, before he turned to face Azula.

"What was it you said about... spies?" he asked, adding the last bit quietly, the Princess raising a finger to her lips.

"I will deal with that as soon as you leave." she assured him, "That letter is proof of the danger I face here." she admitted, before narrowing her eyes, remembering what Lo and Li had done to one of her airbending scrolls, "There's precedent for that assumption."

"Spies?" Aang asked, "Working for who?"

"I'll let you take a guess on that one." she simply responded, not wanting to have a conversation about her father's treachery and clear intentions to deal with any opposition; she couldn't incriminate herself in his eyes, at least not yet, while she still was unsure how much sway he held over the navy.

"Things aren't how I expected them to be." Sokka admitted, glancing toward the Princess with a suspicious glance, "How are you going to stop him?"

"I'm not going to do that." Azula spoke up, "Starting a civil war is not in my self-interest." she clarified, stepping closer to the group, "Stopping those who seek to destroy and sow chaos is the responsibility of the Avatar."

"So what has the Fire Nation been doing for the past hundred years?"

"I'm not going to defend the actions of those who came before me." she put her intentions simply, "I serve the Fire Lord, and I will serve my nation by serving him. That means I will do what he believes is right."

"And can we trust the Fire Lord?" the Water Tribe girl asked the question she had seen coming, and though she wanted to defend her uncle's dignity, it seemed that the only other person present who had met him was more than willing to do so.

"I'd say definitely." Sokka spoke in her favour, before stepping closer to the other two, "Take it this way: do you trust the man who has said he wants to end the war and bring a new age of peace between the Four Nations, or the man who tried to have his own son killed?"

"His-" Katara began, her eyes widening with shock, "What are you talking about?"

"My brother has been snooping around, keeping an eye on my father's dealings. It seems that he got a little too much information, and Father had to tie up loose ends." Azula explained what she assumed had occurred, which was mostly deduction, but she had good reason to believe that was why Ozai had tried to have Zuko and Mai killed.

Aang and Katara's expressions shifted to ones of horror, and they looked toward each other, seeming lost for words; the Princess sighed, knowing that was probably not the best thing to reveal, given that not everyone knew her father. Though she couldn't say she was comfortable about that news when she received it, she certainly understood that it was within belief; her father had never been kind, and from what she understood, took little care for human life, especially when people stood in the way of his intentions. That was why she even considered believing her uncle when he said he had sent assassins after him.

"My family is terrible." she simply put it, before revealing the reason they hadn't even left yet, "So, you wanted tea?" she asked them, Aang's eyes moving to meet her own.

"Uh... yeah, tea." he nodded, nervously placing his hands together, probably just trying to reason with what she'd told him.

"I'd assume it's jasmine tea, seeing that's what I usually request." she noted, turning around to place her hands behind her back, "What kind of tea do you like?"

"Wh-what kind of question is that?" Katara gasped, sounding confused; perhaps she didn't understand she didn't want to loom over the fact her father was, for lack of a better word, evil.

"A question." she stressed, "I know that the Air Nomads drank tea, but seeing that there was no longer any evidence of their leaves, I couldn't discern what they drank."

"Uh... just green tea." Aang clarified, "It's simple." he explained, the Princess sighing as she considered, just for a moment, how lost she felt, with no real sense of what she was doing.

Making friends with the Avatar was completely insane to her, but yet, that was what she was doing; she had to do things to win, but everything had changed, all because she had actually succeeded, and found somebody who had disappeared for a century.

"If only handling this situation was as simple as boiling a pot of dried leaves."


Running a brush through her hair, Mai looked at her appearance in the mirror before her; she hadn't taken much care for her appearance when she had been hiding in the capital, nor when she was working on a freight ship, but now, she felt a little self-conscious, knowing that she could afford to actually clean up her appearance. So, she did just that, having already washed her hair and body, cleaning off any dirt and dust that had been on her, before she laid out her now clean clothes. Seeing that Piandao only had Fat to do work around his estate, and his profession was that of a cook, she was forced to clean it herself.

She remembered what her mother had told her about cleaning clothes, and the fabric didn't feel terrible to touch, so she was sure she had done something right. That thought of her mother made her mind turn to her family, for just a moment, wondering what they might have been thinking. If Ozai was claiming they were dead, then she could only imagine how distraught her mother and father were, just thinking she was going on vacation with Zuko. In hindsight, she had in a way, gone on a trip with the Prince, though not out of any volition on their behalf; they had to escape, and now, they seemed to be in relative safety.

Mai knew that the fear her family was feeling certainly would outweigh the unease she felt inhabiting the house of a virtual stranger; she guessed her brother mightn't have a clue what was going on, given how young he was, while her mother and father would likely believe Ozai's lies. She didn't think they were fools, but she believed that Zuko's father was more than intelligent enough to formulate a cover-up that was believable down to the finest details. Imagining what Azula could do was her best comparison, and though she doubted her friend would ever try to harm her in the way her father had, her wit and strategic genius were undeniable, even if she hadn't seen much of it in action yet. Zuko, on the other hand, was probably a better comparison for the temperament of Prince Ozai; he was always looking over his shoulder, ready to fight and do insane things for what he believed was right.

She could only sit in her room, brushing her hair, for so long, and decided to, once it felt sufficiently straightened, to tie it up into the usual bun; she felt that her appearance was a little odd, stemming from the fact her robes were far more tight fitting that what she usually preferred. Of course, it was practical if she was going to be doing any work at Piandao's estate, just as she had been doing on the ship, so she didn't mind it that much. She still had her knives fastened to her belt and her stilettos under the sleeves of her shirt. Once she had done her hair, she rose up to her feet, and turned around, wondering if she ought to head to Zuko and Piandao immediately, or if she should just go train. She knew that doing the latter would keep her mind off the more concerning things that were dominating it since the assassination attempt.

She decided that, just as a precaution, she ought to meet with the two of them, sure that Master Piandao had something in mind; he seemed to be quite a well-learned and intelligent man, who knew much of the situation that was presently going on, presumably because he was in direct contact with the Fire Lord, at least before the assassins attacked him, and he went missing. They had yet to learn of the Fire Lord's condition, though that was something she was sure would come up sooner or later; she trusted that, if Ozai was being wholly truthful about Azula's actions when he spoke to Zuko last, that the Princess would have already found her uncle. The more chilling possibility was that the Fire Lord was actually dead, and that would make his brother's actions all the more dangerous, given he would be the Fire Lord in that situation.

Mai shook her head, knowing that getting worried about such things would be pointless, given she lacked the knowledge to make a judgement on the state of the Fire Lord; she instead decided to leave the quarters she had been granted, pushing the door open before she glanced down the hallway. She knew she shouldn't be suspicious, but after all they had been through, she couldn't help it. She moved down the hallway at once, sure that Zuko was probably waiting for her; he seemed to like and appreciate her advice, and although she didn't want to think so highly of herself, she would prefer to be there for any decision-making.

When she reached the main hallway that led through the upper floor of the house, she made sight of the staircase, and could hear voices in the distance; she couldn't hear what was being said, but it gave her a good indication that Piandao and Zuko were out by the edge of the garden, behind the manor. She made her way to the stairs, and darted down them with haste; she could hear footsteps nearby, and glanced around to see that Fat was coming from the dining room.

"Good evening, Lady Mai." he addressed her, "Were you looking for Master Piandao and the Prince?"

"They're outside, right?" she asked, and the butler nodded, confirming her suspicions.

"That they are." he replied, gesturing toward the rear of the manor, "Did you have any requests for dinner?"

"No." she shook her head, "Did you need any help preparing it?" she asked, the butler's eyes widening.

"Help?" he asked, surprised by her suggestion, "I'd... well, you're our guest." he seemed to refuse her offer, Mai narrowing her eyes; she didn't want to force herself into his kitchen, but she didn't want to take an unfair advantage of Piandao and Fat's hospitality, especially given they weren't intending to leave soon.

"I think we're going to be here longer than a night." she admitted bluntly, stepping closer to the butler, "I don't think it would be fair to abuse your hospitality."

"That is quite kind of you, Lady Mai." he bowed toward her in respect, "I might have some use with some extra hands in the kitchen. I haven't started preparing the meal yet." he clarified, "I will tell you when I am."

She nodded, expressing her comprehension, before she paced on down the hallway, making her way in the direction the butler had gestured; the voices grew louder as she approached rear door of the house, and she pushed it open, before glancing around, making sight of Piandao and Zuko, the two of them sitting by a small table on some cushions, with a pot of tea between them. The Prince, being able to see her from the angle where he was sitting, glanced up toward her, and made a small smile; unlike her, he was more than willing to express his happiness when he did feel good, and that made her feel a little more sure of herself. He was the paranoid one of the pair, so when he wasn't being paranoid, she could be sure that they were in relative safety.

The sword-master turned around, realising that the Prince had been looking at someone, and he gestured for her to approach, "Lady Mai, I'm glad you have come to join us." he addressed her, and with that, she strode over them, sitting on another cushion, placing herself between the pair, looking away from the afternoon sun.

"I see you've cleaned up." he noted, "I hope that the facilities here were sufficient. It's not every day that we have two dust-laden travellers show up at this place."

"You had hot water and scrubs; that was more than enough." she explained, assuring him that he had provided all that he needed to, before eyeing the teapot; Zuko didn't have to ask her, and immediately picked it up, and poured her a cup, before clearing his throat.

"Uh, so, Piandao and I have been talking about what we know about the present situation with my father's conspiracy." he explained, his dry, uneased tone telling her that it wasn't good news they were about to give her.

"There are connections associates of mine have made in the Fire Nation Capital. Meetings between high-ranking officers in the army and navy occurring away from the Royal Palace." he explained, "That was why they were able to observe what they did." he clarified, Mai raising a brow as she remembered what had happened with Zuko and the assassination attempt.

"Were they there that day?" she asked, the Master shaking his head.

"No, but they did witness the aftermath. I didn't understand that it had to do with the Prince until he explained to me what happened." he acknowledged, "They simply believed some accident had occurred, or perhaps, it had something to do with those officers. I presume that those men were the ones that Zuko saw meeting at the hideout he told me about."

"That makes sense." she nodded, "They obviously must be continuing their scheming." she added her own judgement, "Did your associates actually gather any information?"

"It was all very vague. Again, I hadn't put much thought into all of this until Zuko explained things to me. Something to do with factories, operated by the military, I assume."

"Maybe it has to do with War Minister Qin's war machines." the Prince suggested, "Those haven't been formally introduced into the army from what I understand. Keeping them secret might be part of my father's plans to try and... well, I'm unsure exactly what his plans are now. If Uncle's alive, there's no way he will be able to remain Interim Fire Lord for much longer."

"My associates have connections in the palace, and there's been no news from there either." Piandao explained, "I assume that once your Uncle returns to civilisation, he might be able to direct his own personal attendants to deal with whatever they can in the palace. Until then, they won't reasonably do anything; they obviously won't have any knowledge of the reasons behind the assassination attempt."

"If nobody knows anything, then my father will seem innocent, and people will continue to follow his orders." Zuko concluded, sighing as he picked up his teacup, "What can we do about that?" he asked, Mai furrowing a brow for a moment as she considered his point.

"What could we do that might put doubt in his authority without sparking a direct confrontation?" she refined his question, Piandao raising a finger to his chin.

"That's a good question." he conceded, "There's little we could say to directly evidence Ozai's involvement in the assassination attempts without him finding out about it."

"We don't need anyone to learn about that for people to distrust him." Zuko suggested, "He's always said that a leader needs to always act with resolve and unwavering determination to be worthy of his position. So... if he doesn't seem worthy, perhaps even his own supporters wouldn't trust him to enact whatever plans he has."

"I don't know how we could do that." Piandao admitted, before he narrowed his eyes, "You could send out messages claiming that... you were assassinated, and claim to be the perpetrator. If people think Ozai couldn't protect his own heir, then he'd be seen as foolish at best and incompetent at worst."

"People might sympathise with him instead... and the ministers might just let him go to any ends 'to find the perpetrators'." Zuko countered that idea, "Though, making him look incompetent does sound like a good idea, I feel like that could backfire."

"Good point, Zuko." the sword-master agreed with him, "So... what do you think could be done to undermine his plot?"

"Getting the names and locations of those officers." Mai suggested, making both of them turn to face her, "The most effective way to stop them from backing Ozai's plot would be intimidation... or removing them from the equation entirely."

"You want us to go hunt down my father's supporters?" the Prince asked her, sounding shocked by such a suggestion, "That... that could be dangerous. These are high-ranking officers we're talking about. They have guards and whole divisions under their command."

"I know what you got up to with that mask, Zuko." she reminded him, "You could do it again. We are both capable of sneaking around... as long as we know who to target."

"And... remember, Prince Zuko, these people would have committed treason by supporting this plot." Piandao spoke up, "Once your uncle returns to the fold, you might be able to receive his express authority to hunt down these people... in case you run into complications. The common soldier of the Fire Nation holds the greatest amount of respect for the Dragon of the West. I have met many men, veterans and serving, all speaking of the same high respect for him, before he even became the Fire Lord."

"I know I can do it." the Prince admitted, before shaking his head, "But it just seems... too risky."

"Since when were you afraid of risks?" Mai asked him, and his eyes turned to meet her own.

"Since I nearly died." he bluntly put it, "I don't want to lead you into a situation like that, Mai."

"You do realise I have my own free will, right? I can choose to do this."

"You shouldn't have to. This is about me and my father." he explained, making her roll her eyes; she knew he had good intentions, but he was trying to excuse her from doing something that only she could decide to do or not.

"I am a citizen of the Fire Nation and a subject of the Fire Lord." she stressed, "I don't take treason lightly, and what's been going on, is against the principles of law and process. If your father had fought your uncle in an Agni Kai and won... neither of us could have disputed it, but things... things aren't that simple." she explained, raising her teacup up as she sniffed the aromatic liquid, "I won't let you do this alone, Zuko."

She sipped from the cup, and he looked at her blankly, as if he was undecided on what to say to that; he turned to Piandao, and cringed slightly, "Master... you know my uncle. What do you think he would want me to do?"

"The Dragon of the West is a wise man. I can't imagine the advice he'd give on this issue, but I know he'd want you to choose for yourself, Prince Zuko." he explained his thoughts on the matter, before turning to face Mai, "Your resolve is admirable, Lady Mai. I am glad that you of all people have accompanied the Prince."

"Well, it's better me than his sister. They'd just fight constantly." she quipped in return, making the Prince cringe.

"Y-yeah, we would." he agreed with her sharp critique of their relationship, "I'm glad you're here too." he added quietly, Mai straightening her expression forcefully, not wanting to get embarrassed by his touching comment.

"So, are you going to do it?"

He glanced down, and sighed, before giving a resolute nod, "I will do it." he agreed, "Once we have those names and some locations, we could infiltrate them, and... deal with the traitors." he explained, his vague wording not telling her whether he was willing to kill them or not.

She didn't expect him to be a cold-blooded killer, because it just wasn't in his nature; he respected human life, and obviously thought that just killing those people who had made themselves their enemies by joining Ozai's plot might be overkill, if not morally abhorrent, given that other than the people who had attacked them and Iroh, there was really no murderous intent, at least toward them, or the general populace of the Fire Nation.

"There's just something I have to do first." he explained, turning to face Piandao, "Do you have any scrolls on advanced firebending theory?"

"Uh... I do have them... though, they're locked away in my library... as a non-bender, I don't take much interest in reading them for practical use." he explained to Zuko, who nodded, rising up to his feet.

"There was just one technique that I needed to learn from Master Longchi before all this happened." he admitted, "The cold-blooded fire."

"Lightning generation." the sword-master gave the more straightforward name for what he was referring to, "That's a challenging technique. Not many firebenders can achieve it, let alone master the technique."

Mai tensed up, wondering what Zuko might be able to do with such a technique; though he wasn't as ruthless and violent as his sister, there was no doubt that he'd use the the technique when he needed to. If the only thing standing between them and survival was his firebending, then she would be more confident if he had such a powerful technique under his belt; part of her didn't want him to try and learn something that seemed so inherently dangerous, but they were surrounded by danger, so such an argument made little sense anymore.

"If my sister can do it, so can I, and unlike her, I have an actual reason to use it."

"Against who?" she dared to ask, and the Prince's expression became cold.

"Whoever thinks they can betray our nation and get away with it."


Ty Lee was sure she needed a distraction from what she had learned in her latest letter from Mai; not thinking about the state her friend might be in was the biggest challenge she had faced in quite some time. The dread of considering who was going after her and Zuko, and where they were at that very moment dominated her mind; so, when one of her friends, Wei, suggested that she join the rest of their group of ragtag performers in what she guessed was going to be a night of games and fun she accepted without a second thought. Though she knew she ought to be focusing on what to do, and if she ought to wait for Azula, or to seek her out, she was sure that one night of revelry couldn't be that bad.

So, when she sat down with her friends, she waited intently to find out what they were going to do; fire flakes were handed out, and she ate them, finding the spicy treats just by themselves to be a good distraction, making her salivate. She wiped her lips, and eyed the others, unsure what exactly was going to happen first; Wei stood up, and held the bag of fire flakes in her hand, showing them off for everyone to see.

"So... does everyone here like fire flakes?" she asked the group, who all nodded along, Ty Lee included, "Well, after eating those, you're probably pretty thirsty, right?" she asked, everyone nodding once more; the acrobat knew she'd need a drink of water, but was annoyed to realise she hadn't bothered bringing one alone, "So, I say the first person to get to the creek on the edge of the circus grounds and drink from it gets the whole bag."

Ty Lee licked her lips, and eyed the others, who seemed to think that was a reasonable proposal, though, one of the performers present, Zuting, didn't seem to approve, "Creek water?" she asked Wei, "You can't be serious."

"Well, do you want the fire flakes or what?" she asked her, the other performers rising to their feet.

"When do we start?" Su asked her, and she smirked, raising her left hand up, ready to snap her fingers; Ty Lee tensed up, and eyed the other performers, knowing that she would have to choose some targets if she were to win the race.

Of those that were present, Su, a stunt climber, and Huo, a fire-stick juggler, were undeniably the fastest, and she knew she might have to chi-block them if she wanted to win the race; when Wei snapped her fingers, she immediately ran off in the direction of the stream, racing past a few of the other performers, eyeing the two she knew would be the other contenders. Su, knowing her skills, was keeping his distance, so she elected to try and hit Huo first as the wound around the exterior of the main tent of the circus. She weaved under Ty Lee's hand as she flicked it toward her, and tried to, in turn, trip her with her left leg. The attempt was no match for the acrobat, who leapt right over her leg before she jabbed her in the side, blocking the chi-paths that led down that leg. The other performer stumbled over, landing nearly flat on the ground, and with a smirk on her face, Ty Lee raced ahead, confident she could continue on and win the race.

She weaved past more tents as she reached the other side of the main one, and could hear footsteps ahead of her; she began to jump over a number of ropes that held tents down, taking a shorter path that she was sure the others wouldn't dare to. She could hear some shouts behind her, and eyed toward the end of the gap, where a path laid ready for her to take. When she reached it, she saw a few more people ahead of her, and chased after them, deciding that she'd have to find some way to either get in front of them or slow them down.

She noted that one of the wagons that was used to winch and lift rates into other wagons was sitting right ahead of her, and Ty Lee smirked, knowing that the rope would be the perfect tool to get her ahead. She raced toward a wooden plank that gave her a path up onto the wagon, and ran up it before she leapt toward the rope, grabbing it with both hands before she forced the crane to turn with her weight, allowing Ty Lee to be flung above the other performers, before she somersaulted mid-air and landed in front of them; note wanting her to fall on them, every single of them stopped running, giving her the perfect opportunity to race on ahead toward the edge of the camp.

"Show-off!" she heard Mung chide her, making the acrobat giggle as she knew she was close to victory.

She could only see two more performers ahead of her; Su was at the front, while Ban, one of the circus' animal trainers, was just behind him. She realised she had a golden opportunity with the two of them so close together, so she ran up behind Su and tapped him on the shoulder. Since he'd experienced her chi-blocking before, he overreacted to the tap, and turned himself around to try and avoid getting chi-blocked, though in the process, he slammed into Ban, and the two of them fell on top of each other. She jumped over the two of them, before landing in front of them; she eyed them both for a moment, and saw the exasperated, and clearly annoyed looks on both their faces.

"Better luck next time, boys." she prodded them with a little comment, before she raced toward the stream, which she could already hear in the distance.

Though she heard grumbles and shouts behind her, she felt more than confident in her victory; she saw the riverbank ahead of her, she sped up momentarily before leaping into the air. She jumped over the edge of the bank, and then, after a few moments of weightless falling, she landed on the bank, skidding down it to reach the water's edge. Without further delay, Ty Lee threw her upper body down into the water, filling her mouth with it; though it tasted like dirt, she wanted to win the race, so she swallowed it before flicking her head back out of the water, kneeling there as she waited for the others.

"Damn it, Ty Lee already got here." she heard Su grumble as he reached the edge of the bank, soon joined by the other performers who had joined in the race; soon after they all arrived, Wei stepped out, and looked at the acrobat with a bemused expression.

"Well, I didn't know you liked river-water that much, Ty." she joked, making her roll her eyes, before she raised her hands up.

"Give me those fire flakes." she requested, and the other girl complied, tossing her the bag of fire flakes, which she caught with both her hands, before sniffing them, glad she got the whole bag to herself.

She then made her way back up the bank of the stream, noting that the others were pacing back towards the circus, seemingly disenchanted by their failure; Wei remained there, waiting for her, seeming impressed by her athleticism.

"That was pretty good, Ty Lee." she conceded, before glancing back in the direction of the circus, "Do you think you're up for some truth or dare?"

"I always win the dares." she declared, "I'm ready... but I've just got to eat these fire flakes first, and find some water to drink that doesn't taste like dirt." she clarified, making the other girl snicker.

"Yep, that's what I expected. Nobody thought to bring water to the campfire." she noted, crossing her arms, "Well, now they'll think twice."

"Maybe they'll bring their own fire flakes." she contended, before she paced toward the tents that surrounded the circus, "I'll be back at the campfire in a minute." she explained herself, before turning to the left, heading in the direction of her own tent.

It sat off to the side, near the front of the circus grounds, where she could see the nearby town that they had set up the circus by; shows were already done for the day, so she wasn't worried about getting ready for any shows, only the thought of the letter present in her mind. Mai probably didn't want to cause her panic, but hearing about her and Zuko nearly getting killed was scary enough; she had told her what she knew about the plot against the Fire Lord, which seemed to be only becoming more of a threat to their nation.

She knew that out in the colonies, she was as far from any potential conflict as she could be, but she was sure that if something really did happen, and the Fire Lord declared his brother a traitor, which would be completely reasonable, seeing what he had done, then it was only a matter time before sides were chosen, and the Fire Nation was torn apart. She knew she had to get her thoughts about the letter off her mind, so she took a bite from the bag of fire flakes, and appreciated the hot taste on her tongue. Ty Lee thought they tasted pretty good, but even then, she would need some water to wash out her mouth if she was going to eat a whole bag. Wei's race was a little funny, but seeing that she had made herself the butt of the joke by drinking the dirty stream water, she wasn't really amused.

When she reached her tent, she parted the canvas to glance on in; her handle was unlit, after she had left it earlier, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to recall exactly where she had left her flask of water. She knelt down beside her stretcher, and felt around, before she grasped something hard and cold, which had to be the metal flask; she picked it up and shook it, making the expected swishing noise. She then twisted up the knob on the top of the flask, popping it off, before she took a swig from it. The cool, untainted liquid refreshed her, and she let out a little sigh, glad she had found the water.

Ty Lee turned her head around when she heard the sudden sound of a shout, and she raised a brow, hoping that nobody had gotten into a fight; she knew that people could get a little competitive when it came to campfire games, and that wasn't helped by the alcohol that some of them would drink. As she was too young for that, she never got to experience what she guessed was a dazed, disoriented fun-time that some like to engross themselves in. She put the knob back on the flask, knowing she ought to take it with her, and took the fire flakes in her other hand.

When she stepped out of the tent, she heard another shout nearby, and this time, it sounded more frantic; she sniffed for a moment, noting the smell of smoke. She wouldn't have been concerned in the slightest if she was closer to the campfire, but she was so far away that it made no sense she could smell it. She turned around and noted that there was smoke billowing out of the main tent of the circus, and her eyes widened.

"What the... what's going on?" she mumbled to herself, before she wondered whether she ought to investigate the smoke; her paranoia was growing as she considered the potential reasons why the tent might be on fire.

She hoped it was just an accident, but Ty Lee had received that letter from Mai, and it told her that the conspiracy they were dealing with was wide-reaching and well-equipped. The idea that they could have found her was shocking, but it wasn't unbelievable. She turned back around, and parted the canvas of her tent, putting the fire flakes and water flask down; she knew the danger she might be in, but knew that protecting the circus was something she ought to do, if it really was in danger. Fires didn't start from nothing, and though she could believe one of the firebender performers had accidentally started the fire, she knew that they would have stamped it out before it became noticeable.

She stepped back out of her tent and immediately moved in the direction of the main tent, noting more shouts in the distance, though she couldn't tell what exactly was being said without getting closer. She began to hasten herself, and the first thing she made out was the voice of Shuzumu, the ringleader and owner of the circus, crying out with fear.

"Please, stop!" he shouted out, and a moment later she heard the distinctive sound of a fire stream being created, and she could see the light from it emanating up above the tents between her and the main tent.

She ran as fast as she could, and when she finally reached the spot she had heard Shuzumu's voice from, she spotted the ringleader lying on the ground, with a burn mark on his robes, trying to pat out the flames that were left on it. She glanced towards the people who had attacked him, and noted that they were all men, dressed in dark robes, with flames in their hands, ready to attack them. She could see that Su, Mung and the other strongmen were trying to attack them, but were failing to stop their swift bending attacks.

"Ty Lee..." Shuzumu groaned, and she turned to face him, offering the ringleader a hand as he rolled over, trying to get rid of those last embers on his clothes; he accepted it, and she pulled him back up to his feet.

"Get out of the way. I'll handle this." she assured him, the ringleader nodding before he ran back into the main tent, and she hoped that if he got the attention of the other circus performers that they could douse the flames.

Ty Lee then narrowed her eyes at the group of attackers, and decided to whistle, knowing that with her skills, she could probably stop them. The sound got their attention, and they turned around, taking form as she ran at them, weaving under the fire streams they sent her way, setting light to the tents behind her, before she reached the closest of the men, jabbing him in the gut and forcing him down to his knees. One of his comrades flung out a fire whip, striking her in the back and making her grunt as she flinched forward; she somersaulted onto the ground, landing right in front of the others, who seemed surprised to see her.

"Oh, good. Somebody who can fight." Mung acknowledged her presence, before pointing at the men, "You're done for now!" he declared, Ty Lee spinning around as she took a new stance, ready to jab them and weave around whatever attacks they had planned for her.

The men who were still standing moved to throw fireballs her way, charging them in their right palms, and she ran forward, striking the chi-paths of two men and making their legs give way; they fell down onto their faces, and the other men turned around to aim their attacks, while the strongmen charged at them, ready to tackle them while they were distracted. She jumped out of the way of their attacks, before she watched with a humoured face as they were thrown down to the ground, and Ty Lee smirked. Suddenly, she heard the sound of another fire stream, and immediately ducked down, realising that more men were coming from behind her; she knew she could take them on, especially with the muscle of the strongmen, but her confidence was shattered when she heard the words she wished she hadn't.

"That's the chi-blocker! That's her!" she heard one of the enemies accuse, and her eyes widened, knowing that her worst fears were true; they had to be there because of Ozai, and because of what she knew.

With no other option, she immediately darted to her right, taking cover behind the tents, which were quickly set alight by the men pursuing her; the heat around her grew more intense by the second, as did the weight of the smoke in the air, and she found it harder and harder to breathe as she tried her best to sprint back in the direction of her tent. There was one thing she couldn't let them burn, and that was her letters; it was the evidence she had, the evidence she was sure Azula would need if she was already on their side. She had to be, because if she wasn't, they were all doomed.

Ty Lee ran as fast as she could and jumped over ropes once more, just as she had done during the race, except this time, she was intent on getting to her tent, not to go drink some dirty river water. She heard a fire stream approaching her, and she dropped down to her knees, narrowly dodging the attack, which set the tent in front of her on fire. She was forced to turn left to make her way around it as the hot flames began to consume it; she coughed from the inhalation of smoke, and covered once again, now behind another tent, which just like the last was struck by fireballs and set alight.

She broke back into a sprint, and made sight of her tent once more, immediately leaping through the opening of the canvas; the light from the flames now lit up the interior dimly, and she opened the crate where she had her scrolls, pulling them out and fastening them to her waistband. She dropped down to the ground as a fire stream struck her tent, setting the canvas above her alight. She fumbled her hands around, grabbing the flask of water she had drunk from before, popped it open, and then tossed the contents up above her, putting out the flames and covering herself with water in the process. The canvas broke apart above her, and the light of flames from burning tents surrounded her in all directions.

She immediately rose up to her feet, and glanced around, trying to find a path out of the flames; she saw the light of another fire stream coming her way, and she ducked down once more. Embers fell down into her tent, setting some of the things alight, and she forced her chest shut to make sure nothing else inside was harmed by the flames. Without further delay she dashed out of her tent, and ran in the direction of a part of the encampment she saw that wasn't on fire.

She got out of the flames, but was forced to duck down once again as fireballs were flung her way. She suddenly saw more flames, but they were going in the opposite direction, she turned around, and realised that Huo was behind her, bending the flames of the burning tents toward her attackers. After she had chi-blocked her, she didn't expect she'd go out of her way to help her; she obviously was worried about the situation, and gestured the way Ty Lee had been heading, which ultimately was in the direction of the nearby town.

"Ty Lee, get out of here! she pleaded of her, "These people are after you, right?" she asked, the acrobat nodding; she was certain of that, and she didn't want the other people working at the circus to suffer because of her lack of action- if she had left the circus as soon as she received Mai's second letter, she could have prevented what was happening at that very moment.

"Thank you." she simply nodded at the other performer, who seemed to understand that something more complex was going on that just some ruffians or arsonists attacking the circus.

She began to run on out of the circus's grounds, and she didn't stop when she reached the edge; she only had her scrolls, with no money, no other clothes, no water. All she had was what was the clothes on her body and the information she needed to help her friends. She couldn't fail Mai, because she knew if the roles were reversed, her friend wouldn't just give up and hide. She would do everything in her power to help her, because that was what a friend had to do. Azula, on the other hand, would probably go and hunt down her attackers, but Ty Lee did not feel as vengeful as she would, let alone confident enough to face dozens of firebenders at once. All she knew was that she had to run, and that her time at the circus, was, for all intents and purposes, over. Ty Lee needed to find her friend, and if she didn't, then the Fire Nation might face a fate far worse than losing the Hundred Years War; it wasn't just her safety at stake, but Mai's, Zuko's, Azula's, along with the rest of her country's safety, the people of which were probably all unaware how close they were to slipping off the cliff that was a civil war.