Ty Lee decided that school was even worse than home, despite how much she had been looking forward to it, knowing that learning new things and meeting new people would be fun; it was bad enough when her parents confused her for one of her sisters, but now, nobody could recall her name or knew who she was, other than her six identical sisters, who she didn't want to hang around anyway. They were fun to play with at times, but out in the schoolyard, she wanted to make friends with other girls.
So, when she reluctantly accepted Ty Lin's offer that they all play together, she decided that she would play something that she knew was good at- cartwheeling. The challenge was to do as many as they could until they fell over; though her sisters were confident in their own skills, she had spent long summer afternoons in their garden doing nothing but practicing her cartwheels. When it came down to it, Ty Lat and Ty Liu could only get two done before they fell over, Ty Lum, Ty Lao and Ty Lat three, Ty Woo four, and her, finally, getting a total of six. As the sisters had gathered much attention from doing this, she was rather proud of herself in achieving her victory, standing with hands on hips as the crowd of girls cheered her on.
"Wow!" one of them exclaimed, "I can't believe she did six!"
"That was amazing!" another grinned at her, "What's your name?" she asked, Ty Lee now sure they'd remember it.
"Ty Lee, master of cartwheeling." she entitled herself, much to the distaste of Ty Woo, who was clearly not happy with all the attention she was getting.
"Show off." she growled under her breath, Ty Lee smirking at her sister.
"I'm good." she retorted, before turning back to face the other girls, "Do you wanna see how to do it?" she asked them, and they all looked rather excited.
"Oooh!" one of them raised her arms up, "Show us! Show us!"
"It's all in the balance." she raised a hand up to stress the point, "You can't just jump on the ground and hope your hands will hold you up." she warned them, before she curled her back over and moved into a handstand, "So, I practice by doing these."
"Wow." one of the girls gasped as they watched her keep herself in place, and calmly at that, "You can balance really good."
"Yep." she grinned, "So... does anybody wanna try?"
"I dunno." one of the girls admitted, "I might fall over."
"Oh, I know!" Ty Lee's eyes widened, "We can have partners." she explained, "Somebody can be ready to hold your legs so don't fall over when you practice." she explained, before glancing at her sisters, "Do you wanna help?" she asked them; most of them seemed disinterested, and Ty Lat decided to excuse them.
"We're going to go play tag. Bye, Ty Lee." she decided, the other sisters following after her; she pouted slightly, knowing that she might have made her sisters feel a little bad because she was getting the attention- she just liked it so much, and she didn't want to give it up.
She turned back to face the other girls whose attention she'd got, and one of them stepped forward, "So do you wanna be my partner?" she asked, and the girl nodded; she gestured for her to get down onto the ground so she could help her get her legs up into the air, and she complied, lying down before putting her hands behind her head.
She then helped the girl get up into a handstand position, and she grinned with surprise, "W-wow, I'm doing it!" she exclaimed, Ty Lee smiling as she realised she was really helping her out, and hopefully, the girls would like her and maybe want to play with her again in future.
As she helped her keep her balance, the girl seemed to have her attention drawn away from them, in the direction they were both facing, "Huh, is that girl staring at me..." she asked, making Ty Lee raise a brow; she turned her attention over toward the other side of the yard, where she could see a girl sitting on a bench alone, looking their way; she didn't look happy or sad, simply sitting there, blankly looking their way, perhaps with a little interest- she didn't look too odd either, though she felt like she recognised her from her class.
"Who is that?" she asked the girl, who didn't seem to know.
"That's the Princess." one of the other girls explained, Ty Lee's eyes widening.
"Princess?" she asked, remembering that her teacher had said something about a Princess from the Royal Family starting school in their very year level, "What was her name?" she tried to recall, unable to remember it, seeing that it was something that only ever mentioned in passing, when she wasn't really paying much attention.
"She's kinda creepy." one of the girls commented.
"Creepy?" Ty Lee raised a brow, "I mean, she isn't speaking with anyone. Maybe she's just shy."
"Shy?" the girl she was helping handstand asked, "Royals can't be shy. They're like... the most important people. Everyone listens to them."
"Yeah, I know, but... people can be shy." she acknowledged, knowing that even if she wasn't she understood well enough from her short time at school that not everyone seemed comfortable talking to others, especially when they hadn't met before.
She then heard the bell be rung, and turned her head to notice that one of the teachers was standing by the front of the yard with the brass bell in hand that she would use to tell them that break was over. She then helped the girl whose legs she had been holding up down, and she got back up to her feet.
"Thanks for showing us how to do that, Ty Lee." she smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"No problem." she assured her, before her eyes widened, "None of you told me your names."
"Oh, don't worry, we'll see you again." she assured her, before pacing off across the yard to head back to her classroom.
She turned her head around, recalling that she was going to her history and cultural heritage class, which had a long name that was just as boring as it sounded; they never seemed to talk about anything interesting, just old Fire Lords and things they did, along with some other odd or creepy things, like the kind of bedtime stories her mother would sometimes tell her and her sisters, only much more real. She didn't really like that part of school, and she had a feeling her sisters didn't either, but that didn't mean they weren't going to do the work that was what their parents expected of them, and she wasn't going to disappoint them. She wanted them to see her for all the good hard work she could do.
She picked up her school bag, which she had left by where she and her sisters were cartwheeling, and she strode out of the yard, following after the other girls, who just like her were heading to their own classes. When she reached the path out of the yard, she eyed around, remembering that her history class was in a classroom by a large tree, which she could see in the distance. She paced on over toward the tree, and eyed around, noting a number of girls already filing into the class; Ty Lee stood in line, waiting for them to make their way in, and once she could get in, she darted to go find herself a seat, wanting to be as far from the teacher as possible, not wanting to be asked questions about things she had no idea about. That would be very embarrassing, and Ty Lee didn't want to look dumb in front of all the other girls.
When she sat down, she placed her bag down beside her, and pulled out the paper she would be using to write; she wasn't that good at writing yet, given she'd only started learning that year, but she knew enough about it that she could write intelligible things that the teacher might be able to read and mark her on. She glanced up toward the teacher, who looked like she was going through her things, making sure she actually had everything she needed for the class. While she waited, Ty Lee picked her writing brush out of her bag and began to spin it around in her hand, just wanting to pass the time. She heard somebody sitting down beside her, and she glanced to her left to realise that it was the Princess, who had been staring at her earlier.
She didn't know whether to speak, but awkwardly smiled at her, deciding that she at least ought to introduce herself, "Uh, hi, I'm Ty Lee. Who are you?"
"You're joking." she scoffed, looking at her with a perplexed face, "You don't even know who I am?"
"Sorry... I couldn't remember your name." she whispered, "You're the Princess, that's all I know."
"Yes, I am." she confirmed, "Azula." she gave her name, before pulling her own brush and paper out, "You're good at acrobatics." she simply commented, making her smirk as she realised she had been paying attention.
"Oh, did you think my trick was cool?" she asked, the Princess shrugging her shoulders.
"It was okay." she admitted, not sounding that impressed, "Those other girls seemed to think it was cool." she noted, Ty Lee nodding as she placed her brush back down on the table in front of her.
"Yeah, they did." she agreed with her, "Do you want me to show you how to do those tricks?" she asked Azula, who furrowed a brow.
"I want to become a master firebender someday." she explained her intentions, "So... maybe your acrobatics might help me be a great fighter." she noted, before silently sitting there for a few moments; unlike the other girls, she didn't seem interested in the spectacle of her acrobatics, but rather the actual use it could be to her.
"I could teach you." she suggested, "But... I've only just met you." she admitted, "Why do you want my help? I've got six sisters who could teach you."
"You're better." she simply gave her reasoning, "You're good at talking to people, and make them happy."
"Uh, so... you want to be my friend?"
The Princess narrowed her eyes, before turning them toward the teacher, "Is that what friends are?"
"Yes." she confirmed, "You look interesting, Azula." she gave her opinion on her, which she'd only formed through the short conversation they'd had.
"Oh, I want to be." she smirked, before picking up her brush, "We're about to start." she gestured to the teacher, and Ty Lee picked up her own brush.
"Now, class, we're going to be learning about the Great Unification today, and learn about how our nation came to be." she explained, "Does anyone know what that was?"
"When the first Fire Lord defeated the warlords and made himself the ruler of all our nation." Azula gave what she guessed was the correct answer.
"Uh, yes, that is correct, Princess Azula." the teacher confirmed, the Princess smirking; upon understanding her knowledge, Ty Lee figured that there was one great advantage to making friends with her.
"Can you give me some answers?" she asked, knowing they were going to be quizzed on things, and she'd prefer to get a better mark, maybe so her parents might congratulate her and give her some notice.
"If you show me how to do a handstand." she gave her own condition, and Ty Lee offered her hand out.
"So, deal?" she proposed, and Azula shook her hand, with a pleased look on her face.
"Deal."
If she were to be completely honest with herself, Ty Lee would admit that she probably could have chosen a better place to hide; she was curled up in a barn, some distance away from the town where the circus had been set up, and though she could have tried to travel further, she was too tired from running and fighting off the firebenders, whose arson had left Ty Lee with a number of light burns on her arms, hands and legs, not to mention a sustained cough which persisted long after she stopped running.
The barn she was hiding in was large enough that it wasn't much warmer inside than it was outside of it, and she only had hay to lie on to try and keep herself warm, and though it was better than nothing, it irritated her burned skin, and forced her to itch it as she tried to get some rest. She knew she couldn't hide there for that long, but the barn provided a reasonable amount of cover while she rested, and she guessed she could stay there until daybreak, when she could continue running off away from the village. The forest might allow her to lose the men who were pursuing her and presumably the information she had in the scrolls tied to her waist.
As she sat there, hungry and tired, she lamented the fact she hadn't eaten more of those fire flakes, and relegated herself to remain there instead of doing something as stupid as trying to steal from the nearby house, where she guessed the owners of the barn were living. She knew that theft wasn't a good thing to do, and when there was a chance the people who lived in the house weren't friendly, she decided it wasn't worth the risk. if she got attacked, or worse, turned into the authorities, which would make it a whole lot easier for her pursuers to find her.
That was why, when she heard the sound of a voice in the house, and then the sound of footsteps, she became a whole lot more nervous; she knew there were some ostrich horses in the barn which probably needed to be tended to. She had just been lucky earlier than she didn't frighten the animals, but now, she realised that didn't matter. Somebody was going to come inside, and all she could do was scamper up and over the stacks of hay, and hope that she could hide behind them. She couldn't be found, not when there was a good chance that she might be arrested for trespassing; she could only hope that the locals really didn't like the Fire Nation authorities, and thus, didn't hand her over.
"What's wrong?" she heard the voice of someone who she assumed to be a teenage boy, by the tone that he spoke with, and she heard his footsteps moving over toward what she assumed was the ostrich horses, "Did something frighten you?" he asked the creatures, which obviously, being unable to speak, weren't going to respond.
The barn fell silent, and she covered her mouth, hoping that her breathing wasn't too loud; she heard some footsteps approaching the stacks of hay she was hiding behind, and cringed with fear.
"If you're a person, now would be the time to speak." he warned her, "Otherwise I'm going to whack you with this broom." he stressed, and Ty Lee yelped with fear.
"Please don't!" she pleaded, before covering her mouth, realising that it was too late.
A bit of the hay was moved out the way, allowing the boy to see her; she realised that he was definitely Earth Kingdom, with swarthy skin, long brown hair tied up with a bandana and topknot, and the usual green and olive drab clothes that was expected of his people.
"What... what are you doing in my barn?" he asked her, and she cringed with fear.
"U-uh..." she mumbled, "Hiding." she decided to give the honest truth, the boy raising a brow before he glanced at the ostrich horses behind him, "From the ostrich horses?"
She scrunched her lips up, trying to hold back a laugh, and shook her head, "N-no." she stressed, "I'm hiding from... people who want to hurt me."
"The Fire Nation." he guessed, somewhat accurately, before he pointed toward her, "What'd you do?"
"Uh... learn about things I probably shouldn't've." she gave the honest truth without spilling any of the details she was sure Mai didn't want her to.
His eyes widened for a moment, before his expression softened, "You're hurt. They burned you, didn't they?"
"Just a little." she mumbled, pulling herself up from the ground, "I'm faster than them."
"Well, the fact you got here and my barn hasn't been burnt down says that already." he noted, crossing his arms, "I don't think you should be in here."
"I-I'm sorry." she dropped her head down, knowing the danger she was putting the boy and assumingly, the rest of his family in, "I'm... I'm putting your family in danger, aren't I? This was a stupid place to go. I knew it." she grumbled to herself, knowing that it would have been smarter to hide somewhere in the town itself.
"No." he shook his head, "I mean out of the barn. You need to have those burns looked at." he explained, before tilting his head toward the doors of the barn, "Come with me."
"Um..." she mumbled, scratching the back of her head as she realised that he actually wanted to help her; she smiled, just glad that he wasn't going to get the local guards on her, "Thanks."
"Just follow me. I've got to explain this to my mum so she doesn't freak out." he explained, Ty Lee nodding as she pulled herself back over the haystack and began to follow after him, making her way toward the entrance; the boy glanced out into the distance as he stood by the doors, and his eyes widened as he saw something.
She stepped up beside him, unsure what he was getting worried about, though the fact he was worried piqued her interest at once; it turned out that he was actually looking toward the town, or more specifically, at the fire that had resulted from the burning of the main tent of the circus.
"You're from that circus, aren't you?" he guessed correctly, and she nodded to clarify, "What kind of people did you piss off?"
"The dangerous kind." she simply told him what she had before, her expression softening as she realised that he obviously didn't want to put himself in danger, and now, comprehending the proximity of the danger, might have been reconsidering his actions, "If you don't want me to come inside, that's fine. I should probably go into the forest. That's where I'll be able to hide." she explained her thoughts, the boy shaking his head.
"No." he refused, "You're... you shouldn't have to sleep out there. It isn't safe."
She nodded, still surprised that he was adamant on helping her; she was sure he was a nice guy, and was relieved she was lucky that she'd decided to rest in his barn of all people.
"You know I'm Fire Nation, don't you?" she asked, sure that he mightn't try and help her if she knew where she was from, given he was most certainly Earth Kingdom.
"Yeah, the circus is Fire Nation." he told her bluntly, something that she should have realised he already deduced; sometimes her lack of thoughtfulness made her feel like an idiot, and she shook her head, knowing that she had to keep her mind on task.
"Sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Ty Lee.
"Ty Lee?" he furrowed a brow, "Did your parents add the Ty so you'd stand out?" he asked, making her snicker; it was actually the opposite way around, given how she had six identical sisters all with the name Ty, followed by a second name.
"No, actually." she admitted, before glancing toward the rear door of the house that they were approaching, "So... uh, you have to tell your mum." she recalled, "Does she not like strangers?"
"The only strangers that show up at our house are the Fire Nation soldiers collecting taxes." he explained, sounding rather annoyed by that fact, "We can barely get by as it is." he added, before shaking his head, "Just give me a second." he raised hand, and she stopped by the door as he opened it and stepped inside.
"Mum, something's happened." she heard him speak up, and he heard some shuffling about.
"What is it, Haru?" she asked him, sounding clearly concerned, "Did somebody steal one of the ostrich horses?"
"No, not that. I found someone curled up in the barn. She's hurt, and bad people are looking for her."
"A complete stranger in our barn." she stated what she had just been told, sounding rather nervous about it, "That's... odd." she noted, "What kind of person are we talking about?"
"I think she's a circus performer." Haru admitted, and his mother almost laughed.
"A circus performer?" she asked, sounding skeptical of the fact, "The circus is in town." she admitted, "Let her in... you say she's hurt?" she asked, now sounding more concerned than she had been.
"Burns." he clarified, and a moment later, he opened the door back up, "Come in." he told her, and Ty Lee heeded his words.
She strode into the house, and noted the warm light from a candle at the centre of the table, where she could see a middle-aged woman sitting, her gaze immediately turning to meet her own. The woman scanned her appearance, and her the edges of her lips pursed downward, telling her that she was sympathetic to her plight.
"Oh dear." she gasped, "You're... come closer." she requested, making the acrobat tense up as she considered whether she should heed her words; she decided, given that she seemed to be friendly and concerned for her injuries, that she would step closer, and the woman rose up to her feet.
"These burns are no joke." she admitted, "I'm surprised you were even able to get here."
"I'm good at running." she admitted honestly, making the woman smile for a moment.
"Yes, you are." she agreed with her, before gesturing for her to sit down; she did that, and glanced back for a moment, noting that Haru was just watching, seeming unsure what to do with himself.
"Haru, go into the washroom. There's a jar of burn ointment in there." she told her son, who nodded, before striding on down the hallway to go retrieve it.
Ty Lee turned her eyes back toward the woman who had just decided to help her, and she bowed her head down, "Thank you." she simply told her, unsure what else to say to a stranger who had offered her refuge.
"What kind of bad people was my son referring to?" she asked her, the acrobat's expression shifting to one of fear; she didn't know what to tell her, knowing that if she gave her too much information, that could be a danger for her and her son.
"I've been told things." she put it as vaguely as she could, "Things that powerful people don't want anyone knowing, and I'm sure that they're the ones who sent those men to attack the circus, to find me." she acknowledged, the woman's expression shifting to one of near pity.
"So... you're here because somebody told you something they shouldn't've?" she asked, and Ty Lee simply nodded, scratching her slightly burnt arms to try and satiate an itch that had been growing on them, and she cringed from the pain.
"I should have just run." she admitted, before grasping at the scrolls she had tied to her waistband, "But I couldn't leave these."
"They burnt down a circus for some scrolls." she deduced, shaking her head with disappointment, "The Fire Nation only knows to solve problems with destruction, don't they?"
"In a way... I guess you're right." she admitted, knowing that even if agreeing with such a proposition was against everything she had been taught at school, what she understood about Ozai's conspiracy validated a view beyond doubt.
"Sorry." she mumbled, before her eyes met Ty Lee's, "I just don't have many reasons to like your people."
"I get it." she nodded, knowing well enough from her previous interactions with Earth Kingdom commoners that most of them disdained the Fire Nation and wanted them gone, and some were willing to use extreme force to make sure of that.
She turned her eyes away, feeling uneasy under the older woman's gaze; she reached toward, placing a hand on the acrobat's shoulder, and sighed, "Sorry, I realise this must be very... unusual for you." she admitted, "Are you from the actual Fire Nation?" she asked, and she nodded.
"From the capital." she admitted, making the woman's eyes widen.
"Oh, so, you've seen the Fire Lord's palace and all that." she realised, "I imagine it's all far nicer looking there than in my old house." she admitted, before glancing past her, presumably toward her son, whose footsteps she could hear approaching.
"This is it, right?" he asked as he held a jar in hand, and she nodded to confirm he had gotten the right one.
Haru stepped closer to the table, standing beside Ty Lee as he placed the jar of burn ointment down on the table in front of his mother, who opened it up. She realised it was a pretty small jar, so she guessed people in the Earth Kingdom didn't get burnt that often; maybe from accidentally touching a stove fire or boiled water for preparing meals, but not much more often than that. Once she had the jar open, Haru's mother gestured for her to put her arms out, and she complied, offering them out, before she began to lather the rather familiar paste onto her arms.
She remembered afternoons where the physician at the royal palace would apply it to her skin after she'd just fought in a spar against Azula, and though she knew her friend never truly intended to harm her with her bending, that was just a side effect of training with such a powerful firebender. She missed her friend, and realised how far she was from home, not just in distance, but in time; she hadn't seen Azula or Mai in many months, and part of her wished she had never left. Another part was afraid of what might have happened if she had remained; if she had gotten involved in what Mai and Zuko had, perhaps things might have gone differently, and not in a good way. Perhaps her life, or the lives of her sisters and parents would be under threat, not just Mai and Zuko's, as it had been.
The paste helped with the itching and aches she had over her arms, numbing them for the most part, and Haru's mother gestured down to her bare midriff, which too, was covered with small splotches of burns. She nodded, and pulled her top up slightly so that she could apply the paste. In the corner of her eye, she noted that Haru was awkwardly turning away, obviously not wanting to look at her, as it might suggest he was being a pervert. As much as she liked the attention of boys, at that very moment, she was at least glad that she wasn't going to concern herself with that; she had far greater priorities than earning anybody's attention, and in contrast, she had to make herself as hidden as possible.
"Has that helped?" the older woman asked her, and she smiled, glad for the help she and her son had provided.
"Yes." she confirmed, before she glanced toward Haru, "This was really... really helpful. I thought you were going to call the guards on me."
"We have every reason for them to not come here." the boy warned her, his tone suggesting that there was more to his own fear of the Fire Nation than he was letting on; she didn't want to push the topic, and turned her head around, wondering if she could cover the parts of her skin that were burned.
"Do you have any bandages?" she asked, and Haru's mother rose up to her feet.
"Yes, I do." she confirmed, before glancing around, "It's with my sewing kit." she clarified, before pacing off down the hallway; she was unsure where she was going, but decided to just be patient, knowing that she was a guest, and she ought to be as polite as she could be- as a noblewoman, it was her responsibility to do just that when in the house of a stranger.
Haru glanced toward her once more, and turned his eyes to a nearby window, looking out of the dining area out onto the hillslope, where she could see the light from nearby houses, "Are you sure you weren't followed?"
"No." she admitted, shaking her head, "I could have been. I was just... running. I had to."
"I get it." he mumbled, turning his gaze down; he was obviously afraid of Fire Nation people coming looking for her, and perhaps, not for her sake, but his own, or maybe, just his mother's- it seemed like they were living alone.
"Are you the only ones here?" she asked, and he turned his eyes back to her, before he gave a curt nod, his expression solemn.
"Y-yeah... my dad's been gone a long time." he admitted, before clenching his fists and turning himself away, "I can't believe I'm helping somebody from the Fire Nation." he admitted honestly, and she made an awkward smile.
"Thank you... seriously." she stressed, "I was hurting, and tired... I mean, I still am, but at least, I'm in an actual house." she glanced around herself, and he remained silent for a few moments, before turning back to face her.
"You don't seem like a bad person." he admitted, and glanced to his left, "Did you want... uh, something to drink? Like some water?"
"That'd be nice." she nodded, knowing that she was a bit thirsty, and all that running had left her dehydrated, though the pain had distracted from that fact, "I need some."
"Everybody does." he mumbled to himself, before he strode over to a pot of water that sat nearby a stove, picking up a cup before he sifted it through the pot, "It's been boiled recently... so it's fine, trust me." he stressed as he showed her the cup, and she smiled, assuring him that she was fine drinking it; she would have drunk that stream water again if that was her option.
"That's better than dirty stream water." she admitted, and Haru raised a brow.
"You say that like you've done that before." he realised, before furrowing a brow, "Have you?"
"Yeah, as a dare." she admitted, before sighing, taking the cup of water into her hands; she sipped from it, and appreciated every drop of the cool liquid as it ran down her throat and relieved her thirst, "This is good water."
"Compared to stream water." he added, making her chuckle, before glancing around as she heard his mother's footsteps approaching them once more.
"I've got the bandages." she spoke up, unfurling a rolled up piece of bandage as she strode toward Ty Lee, who turned around in the chair she was sitting on, allowing the older woman to wrap the bandage around the splotches of burned skin on her right arm.
She then unfurled another bandage, and wrapped that around her left arm, and the acrobat's expression shifted as she realised she hadn't even introduced herself to the woman, nor had she to her, "Oh, I didn't even tell you my name. I'm Ty Lee... who are you?" she asked the woman, whose expression shifted to one of surprise.
"Oh, my name is Natsu, and this is my son, Haru." she gestured to the boy, whose name she already knew from his mother addressing him.
Natsu then pulled out a longer bandage and gestured for Ty Lee to raise her arms; she did, and felt as she wrapped the bandage around her midriff, before tying it up around the front.
"That should do it." she decided, before her gaze turned up to the acrobat, "So, you'll need a place to stay, at least for tonight."
"I don't want to cause you any problems." she admitted honestly, knowing that if the men were still looking for her, that would be dangerous for the family who had just helped her, "But... I don't want to sleep in the forest." she honestly admitted, Natsu rising up and gesturing down the hallway.
"We have a chair you can sleep on." she explained, "I know you're afraid... but you shouldn't have to be. You're not a danger to us." she assured her, and Ty Lee scrunched her lips up; she wanted to accept her proposition, but at the same time, she wanted to run for the woods to make sure there was no chance she'd be found.
Suddenly, she heard a banging on a door, presumably the one at the front of the house, given how far the sound was travelling, and her eyes widened, realising that what she was hearing could be exactly what she feared.
"Oh no." Haru gasped, turning his head in the direction of the door, "That... that might be those people." he came to the obvious conclusion, the very same that Ty Lee did.
"I'm an acrobat." she bluntly stated her profession, and understood what that entailed, and allowed her to do, "Where can I climb and hide?"
"We've got a storage area in the roof for food, clothes and... uh..." Natsu began, before turning away, "Other things."
"You mean Dad's stuff?" he asked her, and she nodded, seeming uneased, and a little saddened by it; Ty Lee wanted to ask, but knew it wasn't her place to do so.
Natsu then gestured down the hallway, "Haru, take her to the opening, I'll deal with whoever's at the door."
Haru offered her a hand as his mother paced over toward the front door, and she accepted it without a second thought; he led her down the hallway, until they were nearly at the end, and he turned his arms up to push on the wooden panel above them, pushing it out of way.
He then narrowed his eyes, and sighed, "Urgh, the ladder." he mumbled, and she took matters into her own hands, literally, as she grasped his forearms, pulling them out so she could step on his hands, and tapped his palms.
"Stand still." she requested, and the boy did just that, allowing her to step on his palms with her right foot, before she leapt up and grabbed onto the ledge of the hole, allowing her to pull herself up.
She groaned slightly from having her muscles stretched so sharply after being burnt, but she kept herself quiet, rising up to her own feet as she eyed around the attic. It was dimly lit in comparison to the house below, which had candles lit around to make it easy to see; she decided that with little options, she would just have to slowly step forward and hope she didn't knock anything over, and find somewhere to curl up and hide. She turned around and grabbed the panel, looking down at Haru for a moment, whose expression suggested he was more than a little nervous about the whole situation.
"Good luck." he quietly acknowledged her as she pushed the panel back over the hole, putting it in place, and making it look like she hadn't even gone up to begin with.
Ty Lee let out a deep breath before she slowly pulled herself along, making sure not to touch any floorboards that were creaky. Once she found a comfortable position on the floor, she laid herself down and listened out for any voices in the house below.
"This is important, ma'am." a male voice addressed Natsu, "We're looking for a dangerous fugitive. A woman associated with a conspiracy against the Fire Lord's life. Have you or your son seen anything suspicious this evening?"
"The ostrich horses have been settled." Haru spoke up, "Nobody's been around, sir. If they had been, I would have dealt with them."
"Dealt?" a voice questioned him, "What can a skinny boy like you do?"
"He's had to deal with thieves at my store before." Natsu clarified, though Ty Lee was unsure if she was being truthful; it was clear they had their own secrets, and seemed to be skilled at lying through their teeth.
"Thieves..." one of the men spoke quietly, "Well, if they come around again, tell the local garrison."
"Are you guys new here?" Haru asked, obviously trying to make conversation.
"Yes." one spoke with a more serious tone, "Now, you mentioned ostrich horses. How many do you have?"
"Six." Natsu clarified, "We're holding them while one of my friends prepares to sell them."
"Well then, we're going to check it. If any are gone... that might indicate the fugitive has come through and stolen one." the same man explained their intentions.
Ty Lee sighed with relief, realising that they weren't even thinking about her potentially being housed by the family, but simply thought she might have stolen from them; if she hadn't be as exhausted and pained as she was, perhaps she would have, but she knew that might have been more dangerous than the present situation she was facing. She shuffled around a little to make sure she could place her ear down onto the floorboards, so she could best hear what was going on down below her.
"What's the burn ointment for?" she heard a voice comment, and then, a moment later, Haru spoke up.
"Mum burnt her arm the other day when she was cooking." he lied, "You know, from boiling water." he suggested, trying to sound as sincere as he could, and Ty Lee heard one of them scoff a few moments later.
"You should take better care of your parents." one of the men suggested, "Maybe you do some cooking, boy." he addressed Haru, who remained silent as the men strode on out of the rear door, intending for the barn.
Ty Lee tensed up, unsure if the men who had come to investigate were suspicious of the family, though she thought they'd done a good job so far; what surprised her a little bit was once the men were out of earshot, Haru made a spiteful comment.
"Take care..." he snarled under his breath, and she heard his mother's voice next.
"Haru, please, don't get too angry. If you... you know, then things will be much worse than they already are."
"You know what they did, Mum." he retorted, before striding on down the hallway, his footsteps clear and sound for Ty Lee to hear; she didn't know if he was going to open the panel up to let her down, and the sound of a door closing a few moments later told her that wasn't the case- he really was angry, and she guessed that it had something to do with his missing father, given the man's comment specifically mentioned parents.
"Oh, Haru." she heard Natsu mumble her son's name with a sad tone, before the rear door of the house was pushed open.
"The barn has six ostrich horses in it. It doesn't seem like the fugitive has been here." one of the men explained, "If anybody steals things from your house, then come to the town and tell our men at the town hall. We'll try our best to track the fugitive down and retrieve anything they might steal."
"Uh, thank you." she simply responded, though her tone was far more nervous than relieved.
"Let's move out! They'll be nearby, I'm sure of it." he shouted out, before pushing the door shut behind him as he strode out; she heard some sounds below her after that, though she couldn't be too sure what she was hearing until she noted some distinctive footsteps moving in her direction.
The panel was knocked twice, and Ty Lee turned herself around, before pulling it open, glancing down to see Natsu, who had an uneasy look on her face, "Come down, dear." she raised a hand up toward her, "I'll get some blankets for you to sleep on."
"Thank you for lying." she smiled at her, the Earth Kingdom woman's expression shifting to one of fear.
"Those men were all armed, and looked like they were about to burn this place down if they knew you were here." she admitted, before shaking her head, "They're going off to the other farms now. You'll be fine to come down."
"Okay." she accepted her request, and pulled the panel completely out of the way, before she placed her hands on either side of the hole, dropping back down to the ground, landing softly on her feet, though she cringed slightly from the pain in her legs.
She glanced down the hallway, wondering where Haru had gone, "Where's Haru?" she asked, guessing that he had gone to his bedroom, and Natsu cringed, shaking her head.
"He's... well, he's not in the best mood." she admitted, "Those soldiers made some hurtful comments... even if they didn't realise it." she acknowledged, before shaking her head, "We have good reason to hate them."
"I'm..." she began, before looking down, "I'm sorry. I don't even know you people, but you helped me, even though..." she trailed off, glancing toward what she assumed was Haru's bedroom, "My people have done bad things to yours... your family."
"That wasn't your fault." she simply told her, before gesturing down the hallway, "I'll show you where you can sleep."
"Thank you." she smiled at her, before stepping along beside her, wondering what she could do to repay her and her son, "I could try and help you, you know. I know how to... do a few things."
"A few things... like chores?"
"Well, I could do those, once I stop hurting so much." she agreed with her idea, before narrowing her eyes, "But I mean, I could really do something. I know people."
"You're not actually plotting to kill the Fire Lord, are you?"
"N-no." she shook her head, although she refused to say what her actual relation to the Fire Lord was; Azula and Zuko's uncle, somebody they both would want to protect, "I'm not."
"You're not the best liar." Natsu admitted, making Ty Lee cringe.
"I..." she mumbled, "They're lying." she simply put it, "I know you probably don't care about the Fire Lord, but I'm not trying to kill him."
Natsu raised a brow, seeming a little interested by her rather stern response, and she narrowed her eyes at her, "So, what have you gotten yourself into?"
"Politics I don't want to be involved with." she put it bluntly, "I really just want to help my friends."
"Well, that's kind of you... assuming you have nice friends." she noted, and Ty Lee smiled, knowing that even if Mai and Azula weren't the nicest people, they certainly weren't bad ones, even if the Princess tried to act like she was a ruthless and cunning warrior at all times.
"They're a little rough on the edges, but they're good."
Even without her old and annoying firebending instructors to demand Azula get up at dawn, as a firebender, she felt herself compelled to rise from her sheets as soon as the sun peered over the horizon to the east of her ship. Her room was dark, except for the candles that she had set up by her desk, which she lit as soon as she woke up, sitting herself down on the floor, beside the table where she would usually drink tea and read reports she received from the Fire Navy about the Avatar, at least when she had been searching for him. Now, she was trying to make sure the Fire Navy didn't get their hands on him, and somehow narrow down where Ty Lee's circus was, and with that, give her someplace to search for her friend. However, she was not going to spend the time between breakfast and dawn embroiled in thoughts about where her friend was, and what knowledge she had that could help her, and by extension, the Fire Nation as a whole.
She had her legs crossed, and her hands in her lap, while she took long, deep breaths, trying to remain focused on the candles she could sense nearby. The flames grew and shrunk every moment with her heartbeat, and the thumping that she could hear in her own head became the only thing she could focus on. Her mind was at peace, even if only for a moment, and once she felt like she was calm enough, detached from her worries about Ty Lee and her father's conspiracy, she reached a hand toward the candles, and began to consciously bend the flames on their tips.
She could feel each of the flames grow stronger as she focused on the flames, and she drew them upward, arcing toward the ceiling. The room was lit up a blue hue from her firebending, and she began to turn her hand around and twist it, and with it, the drawn out flames began to coil around each other, forming an ivy-like structure, which she found herself rather impressed with. It was not the power of her bending that she needed to test, but the accuracy and precision with which she could use it; strength was nothing if she could not wield it correctly.
She sighed as her mind turned back to one of her most powerful abilities, lightning generation, and remembered that she hadn't tried to do it since she fought Sanyan for the first time; she knew that she would need her strength once again, for whatever battles she might participate in, but she didn't truly understand what the problem was. If it really did have to do with her chakras, something that she was no expert on, then she would have to figure out how to unblock them.
She knew that the physician talked about lies and illusions, and she remembered what her uncle had told her; that she was Avatar Roku's descendant, and that was why her mother had married her father, and thus, the reason she existed. It was a confronting truth, and just thinking about it made her flames falter; she didn't want to be an Avatar's descendant, and it wasn't because she didn't want the power. She found pride in her strength, but she knew that her heritage was a weakness; she was a descendant of somebody who was meant to keep balance between the Four Nations, but that wasn't something she could agree to, not after all that her nation had been through. They had won the war, and now, she knew that things were going to change.
That truth was something she didn't take comfort in, but she was relieved to at least know it; knowing the truth was a path to removing any illusions and lies in her path, and regaining access to her abilities. She wondered why she had once been able to generate lightning, before she knew much about the Avatar, the Air Nomads, while the truth remained; she guessed that the chakra was being blocked by the truths she knew but refused to accept, but she had no idea which truth that was. The Fire Nation's supremacy was a truth in and of itself, easy to observe and impossible to deny; the right path for her nation was a choice, and thus, there were no illusions concerning that. There was only one thing she could think of, that was that the lie was her own stance.
"I believe in the Fire Nation. I believe in our mission." she told herself out loud, just to try and stress the point.
But she knew that she wasn't being true to herself, after what she had seen; she believed that they had won, and that their victory was fair, but whether that was righteous, or just, on behalf of the Air Nomads, Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom, who had all suffered at the hands of her nation, led by her grandfather and his father before him. She raised her hands to her head, wondering what those Air Nomads who had burned alive to the power of Sozin's Comet thought as they were being attacked; perhaps they knew Aang existed, and believed he might come to save them, only to be sorely disappointed. Their suffering had no reason to it, no purpose, as the Air Nomads were pacifists, who never desired to fight in a war, and the Avatar was never found, not until he appeared a century later on Kyoshi Island.
Sozin might have been right to fear the Avatar, but she couldn't reason why destroying the Air Nomads was righteous; they never would have done the same to her nation, and she could probably say the same about the Water Tribes, who lacked the numbers or the courage, in the case of the Northern Water Tribe, to even put up a fight against them. Their land was poor and useless to their nation, yet her grandfather had sent the Southern Raiders to annihilate the Southern Water Tribe. That was the truth of the matter, and now, she had to acknowledge it; they were wrong, even if their conquest of the Earth Kingdom had reason, how they had gone about it was fruitless and simply wasted lives, and most importantly, her cousin's life. All those people that had died, all for the sake of ruling a people that hated her nation, and who, without completely destroying them, would never truly be under their control. The prosperity Sozin's grand mission intended was never going to come to the Earth Kingdom, and to think it would be was just foolish; her ancestor had sought to sow a harvest with blood and ash and with that, grow a bounty.
"There is no hope." she mumbled under her breath, before she rose up to her feet, "That's it." she concluded, "Peace has to come some way, and our way... it won't last."
She knew her father followed Sozin's mission as his very ethos, and desired to fulfil it with complete disregard for the lives of the people of the other nations; she too cared little for them, but caring was not the problem. She knew it wasn't right, and that's the truth she had refused to accept; she had seen it walking through those long abandoned temples. People suffered for nothing, and even if she didn't care about them, it was the results that made her understand the futility of it. Even talking to that foolish inventor at the Northern Air Temple had proved that truth, even as she mocked him for his cowardice. A plan to destroy the other nations would never bring prosperity to them, and just thinking about it enough made her realise that; perhaps others had too, but like the Mechanist, were too afraid to act on their beliefs, and towed the line. Her uncle wanted to change things, and she was afraid of that change, fearing what might become of her nation, but she knew that was a line that had to be crossed now.
Azula rose up to her feet, and shook her head, "That wasn't meditation." she noted, before narrowing her eyes at the door, "But it certainly helped." she acknowledged.
The truth was disturbing and made her angry; angry that, just like her father had made Lo and Li destroy that airbending scroll, her nation had been deprived of the truth. They lacked the knowledge to even make a decision; Sokka's frustrating goading had had a point in the end- she had the knowledge, and she was just too afraid to accept it and act on it. It was one thing to accept her uncle's will and help the Avatar, and another to accept the wrongs in her nation's way, the reason that the conflict between her uncle and father had arisen in the first place. If her uncle had been like her grandfather, and been set in following the mission just as he had, then Ozai would have had no opportunity to conspire, to make Iroh out as a traitor and a weakling.
Accepting that truth was the only way she could become strong enough to face him, if that was what it would take; Azula was not simply trying to be righteous, but had her reasons to be set on her path fully without doubt. If she doubted it, then her chakras would remain blocked, and she would not be strong enough to fight her father, let alone face any people he decided to send her way. She didn't feel any different, but she knew that she had to be. She had thrown away the lies, and now, as she strode out of her room, she decided to make sure that her heart was true.
As she made her way down the hallway, some sailors took note of her, confused as to why she was out of her room in her sleeping robes; she didn't care for appearances, for keeping up a visage of perfection, when she had to make sure she could attain that perfection itself. Without her lightning, she was incomplete, so she would find it once again. When she approached the staircase that led up to the main deck, she made sight of a pair of Imperial Fiebenders, talking amongst themselves quietly; they turned to face her, with clearly perplexed faces, and one of them stepped forward, holding his helmet by his waist.
"Your highness, is everything alright?" he asked, and she raised her left hand to dismiss him as she strode up the staircase onto the deck.
She made her way up out onto the top deck, and basked in the morning sun's light, taking in the orange sky around her as she raised her hands up; she took a deep breath, feeling the strength the sun gave her, and took form. Spinning her hands around slowly in a circular motion around her body, she felt the sparks conjure around her, just as they had the last time, when she had failed. She narrowed her eyes, and thrust her right hand up into the air, feeling the energy course up her chi-paths, and finally, it exited her body, a bolt of lightning firing out from her fingertips, the light almost blinding, forcing her to close her eyes as it coursed up into the sky above up the ship, thunder booming loudly. She let out the air in her lungs, and let herself smile; Azula was whole, and she was capable of facing whatever came her way.
"I'm ready." she declared with a confident smirk, before straightening her lips, knowing that important things had to be dealt with; she turned around, and saw that the pair of guards had watched her generate the lightning bolt, and both looked rather impressed by it.
"Is there something you need, your highness?" the same guard asked her, and she nodded, gesturing up to the bridge of her ship.
"I need messenger hawks sent out to the garrisons of every colonial settlement in our present vicinity, and I want to know where that circus is." she explained, and they nodded, before pacing off across the deck towards the bridge; she turned herself around, and placed her hands behind her back as she looked out at the water which glistened as it reflected the morning sun, which still sat only just above the horizon, partially obscured by clouds.
She took a deep breath, and looked across the horizon as she wondered where exactly her friend was; she knew that reaching her was an imperative, and gathering whatever information she had would be vital in stopping her father, in the case Iroh wanted to publicly oppose him, which seemed within reason as Zuko no longer seemed in immediate danger. She wondered whether her brother would try to do anything, given that he had to have escaped the capital by that point. She assumed that once Iroh knew where he was, the Order of the White Lotus would be able to help him, so Azula didn't consider it imperative to go and find him.
She didn't like her brother that much, and knew that he might just conflict with her over her intention to become their uncle's heir. Any desire to assist him came out of a sense of responsibility, given that he, like her, was in direct opposition to her father's plans, and had obviously put himself in danger finding intelligence that may have inadvertently saved her uncle's life; Mai, as well, was on her mind, and she knew that her friend, though a smart individual and brilliant fighter, probably was not ready for the challenges she would be facing with Zuko. Azula had gone through her own ordeals, but she knew that they were probably dealing with things just as dangerous as she was.
Ensuring the safety of Aang and Ty Lee, however, were her imperatives, the former out of obligation to her uncle's will, and the latter out of fear for what might become of her friend, and the intelligence that she had presumably obtained from Mai. She placed her hands on the railing of her ship, and considered whether she ought to go and have breakfast, or continue her meditation; as much as she wanted to get things done, she understood the danger of being solely focused on her task. She could only keep a clear mind and focus when she didn't constantly drum over her fears and theories about what might be happening far from her ship. Without knowledge, her thoughts were merely a waste of time and weighed her down, making her reconsider the objectives that she had to complete.
The war, and her thoughts on it, were not what she wanted to think about again, knowing that it only brought up negative emotions. Though some, like her uncle, might feel hopeful about what they could achieve in a world where they moved past the conflict that had consumed their nation, she felt lost without that singular focus and drive. Without a place to conquer, or battles to fight, Azula's future seemed less certain; she would remain a Princess, that was certain, but she had been trained her entire life by her father, and Lo and Li, to be a warrior, formidable enough to lead men into battle, and serve her nation just as her uncle once had.
She knew that helping the Avatar, though a challenging task that would keep her wits sharp, was not comparable to the feats she had hoped to achieve fighting for her nation. She wanted to see herself lauded, and rightfully, for grand achievements, conquests and victories for her nation; it was only now, that she saw that those achievements could only come about through vicious bloodshed which would only further harm the authority of their nation over the places they had already subjugated, that she understood that it was a fruitless dream.
She turned around, and began striding toward the doorway that led into the bridge of her ship, making her way along the length of the deck. She could feel the hum of the engine vibrating through the deck, and the glistening of the morning sun off the eaves of the pagoda-like bridge; Azula was as calm as she could be, given the circumstances, and she was still a little excited about having regained control of her lightning generation. Without fear, she knew she would be unstoppable, and that was what she'd need to be if she stared her father down in an Agni Kai. Some actions were unwise because of their futility, but his, they were unwise because of who he had angered. She would not stand idly by and let her country fall into chaos, and let Ozai wreak havoc on the world for the sake of his vision for it. A vision of flames and destruction was not prosperity and bounty for the Fire Nation, and she would be sure to remind him of that when she turned her nation away from the conflict that would surely bring an end to it otherwise.
The morning sun shone down over the courtyard of Piandao's estate, and its rays embraced Zuko's shirtless upper body as he moved through his firebending sets with quick succession. Long gone were the pains and aches from the explosion, and now, the Prince was testing his strength; his bending was his greatest weapon, no matter how skilled he was with a sword. He and Fat had already done some warm-up sets with their own blades, and he had enjoyed it thoroughly, at least as much as he could; it reminded him of his time he spent at the estate, learning from the great sword-master.
He had been young, naive and lacking in confidence, starkly different from the Zuko who moved through his sets on the same ground he learned to spar against Fat all those years ago. He had grown tall and strong, and he was no longer a young boy in heart; he had the fears and aspirations of a future ruler, and as much as he wanted to avoid Ozai and his men, part of him wanted to bite back in revenge. He was angry at his father, for how he had acted, and his willingness to betray his own brother. As much as he disdained Azula for all her arrogance and enviable position in the eyes of their father, he couldn't fathom doing to her what Ozai had done to Iroh.
Zuko might have not liked many people, but he knew that he loved his uncle; he was a good man, and far wiser than himself. As unusual as he could be at times, the Prince trusted the Fire Lord with all his heart, and he was sure that as soon as he could help him directly, he would do so without delay. He had to act, sooner rather than later, and that was part of the reason why he was moving through his sets. He was focused and determined, with a single goal in mind; he sought to attain the ability that had thus far eluded him: lightning generation.
Piandao's scrolls had helped him somewhat, at least in understanding what he would have to achieve to attain the skill he so desired; lightning generation supposedly required peace of mind, as it lacked the same kind of aggression that was found in other kinds of firebending. So, when he was doing his sets, he tried to move his mind away from the anger he felt about his father, the anger he knew was giving his flames the power they needed. As expected, as he moved through his sets, he found himself unable to bend flames as intense as he had before trying to clear his mind, but, in contrast, found that he had even more energy to spare as he felt himself strengthened by the sun above him.
He still had a drive and focus, behind all that rage he had been feeling over his circumstances; he was, above all else, determined to do his duty, and serve his uncle. He had to, knowing that if he shrugged off his responsibilities, he could leave his uncle in danger; the Dragon of the West was no joke in a fight, but he knew that he could help his uncle much more than he already had. Just telling him about Ozai's scheming wouldn't be enough; he had to make sure they were victorious, and that his father's plans would never come to fruition.
That focus was what he let drive him as he proceeded to follow exactly what the scroll told him to do; he gathered his chi by spinning his fingers around, sparks flying around his fingertips, and he could feel the unnatural power in his hands as he moved into form, throwing his right arm forward to aim a lightning bolt into the sky. What he wasn't expecting was to be blasted off of his feet by a small but potent explosion, obviously caused by his failure to complete the form. He grunted as he hit the ground, and a few moments later, he heard some footsteps approaching him.
"Prince Zuko, are you..." he heard Fat speak up, and the Prince turned around to see the butler looking at him with a concerned expression, "What was that?"
"A mistake." he simply responded, wiping the dust off of his skin before he rose up to his feet; he was sweaty and a little tired after all his exercises, and decided that he ought to go wash up, "Where's Piandao?"
"He's just doing some calligraphy inside." he clarified, before glancing around; he strode over to the rack located by the edge of the courtyard, and picked up Zuko's upper robe, and tossed it over into his hands; the Prince caught it, and nodded, silently thanking him for his assistance, before he pulled his arms through the sleeves of his robes, allowing him to tie them up, covering his chest and arms.
Walking around shirtless would be unseemly of him, especially when he wasn't actually doing his exercises anymore; he didn't waste any time standing there, and paced back over toward the rear room of the manor, where he knew Piandao liked to sit and do his work, able to have the room lit by the sun at any time of the day, as he had windows on both the east and west sides of the room. When he got to the door, he pulled it open, before glancing inside, just trying to make sure he wasn't going to interrupt the sword-master when he might be in a state of focus. He slowly strode into the room, and though Piandao didn't look his way, he obviously knew he was standing there, as he raised a hand.
"Please shut the door. I don't want Fat having to sweep up dust if it gets windy." he explained, the young Prince nodding, and he turned around to comply with his request; once the door was shut, he returned to the room, and stood some distance away from his host, unsure what he should say, now that he had failed to generate lightning.
Piandao turned slowly to face him, and his expression told him that he knew things hadn't gone as planned, "I assume that explosion wasn't good news." he deduced, and the Prince nodded, "Lightning generation is no easy task, I assure you, Zuko. Few can master it with the level that your uncle has, and even less at your age." he warned him, "This shouldn't be unexpected."
"It isn't." he admitted honestly, clenching his fists slightly as he tried to to remain calm; Zuko knew that he would have to struggle to become the Prince he knew he could be, but that struggle was going to get him agitated and abrasive sooner rather than later, "Master..." he addressed him, unsure how to frame his thoughts, "How can I find peace of mind?"
"Peace of mind is not an achievement, but a state of being, Zuko." he warned him, "You cannot expect to clear your mind for a moment and hope that you will be able to generate lightning in that instant. You need to be completely certain."
"Certain." he repeated his last word, curious as to what kind of certainty he was referring to, "I am certain."
"Certain of what, may I ask?" he asked, and the Prince grimaced slightly, before he straightened his face.
"That I have to face him again."
"Fear can drive any man." he warned him, his proverbial phrasing reminding Zuko rather fondly of his uncle, "But true strength comes from being motivated by your own will, not by your fears."
"I..." he turned his eyes downward, "I do want things." he admitted, "I've always wanted things... but now... all I have is my fear."
"Your father is not a kind man, Zuko." he warned him, rising up to his feet, "I understand your reason for fearing him, and fearing what he could do to the people you love."
"I can't just do nothing."
"You're not doing nothing." he warned him, "And there's nothing wrong with taking a moment to rest, and refocus your strength." he explained their situation in a better light, before crossing his arms, "Zuko, what do you care about?"
"I care about the Fire Nation." he told him the first thing that came to mind, "I want to make sure our nation is as great as I was told it was." he explained, and the swordmaster raised a brow.
"And you don't think the Fire Nation is great?"
"Great at fighting." he admitted, "Not so great at... what comes after that."
"I agreed." he made a small smile, before placing a hand on the Prince's shoulder, "Zuko, how do you feel about what you told me your father is doing... not to your uncle, but to your nation?"
"I hate it." he admitted bluntly, "He wants to destroy our enemies. He wants to burn their country down with the comet." he stressed, "I can't let him do it. He'll doom... everyone. The Earth Kingdom will never forgive us... they would rise up and destroy us, even if it cost them their own lives." he admitted, "I can't let all of that happen."
"Death is not a pretty or honourable thing, Zuko." he admitted, "I have seen men die for their own pride, and for the pride of their nation. You understand why that is wrong."
"I do." he acknowledged, "I can't let anyone else suffer for his dream."
"That's it, Prince Zuko." he stressed, tapping on his sternum, "Your love for your nation is stronger than your fear of your father." he argued, "Use that, and forget your hatred. That will provide you with a power stronger than any anger or fear."
"I know." he admitted, clenching his fists as he turned away, "He was right."
"The Fire Lord?"
"No." he mumbled, before turning around, forcing a smile, "Thank you, Master. Your advice is just as inspiring as it was when I was a boy."
"Well, I'm glad I can be of use." he admitted, smiling at the Prince, "I'm no firebending master... but I know fighting."
"You're one of the best." he conceded, reminded of the mythic story surrounding Piandao and his defeat of a hundred soldiers, who tried to force him back into the army, "And you stand for what you believe is right."
"Like any honourable person should." he stressed, before gesturing down the hallway, "You can go wash up now. I'm sure you're tired after your sets."
He nodded, and turned around to pace down the hallway; he would go wash up, and then he'd probably go speak with Mai, considering that they hadn't spoken since breakfast, and only briefly then. She probably wasn't in a bad mood, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to mask her distaste, like she always did with her impenetrable gaze. Zuko wasn't that worried about her, but he couldn't help but wonder how she felt about their present circumstances; being housed by Piandao was far nicer than having to work on a ship, but they were far from home, and in constant fear about when his father's men would catch up with them. He knew it would happen sooner or later, and he was certain Mai knew that; as soon as they could act, they would go and face the traitors, and stop their hiding. Working in the shadows was something they were both skilled at, but living in them was something else entirely.
He made his way up the stairs, and quickly strode on down the hallway toward his bedroom; the door was shut, and he pulled it open, before stepping inside. On the bed, he had a few articles of clothing laid out, which he had put there after getting dressed the first time, as he already knew he'd get changed after his training; he picked up the robes and undergarments, rolled them up, and then held them by his waist as he stepped back out of the room, heading straight for the washroom that sat nearby. He approached the door with haste, and glanced back, checking if Mai was about; he guessed she was in her bedroom, reading from Piandao's library, something she said she'd be doing while they were there, given the size of the sword-master's collection.
When he pushed the door open, what he hadn't been expecting was to see Mai sitting by the washbowl, kneeling over with her waist covered by a towel. He almost cried out in surprise, and covered his mouth to prevent himself from doing that; he hadn't seen anything that would be irrefutably inappropriate, simply seeing her bare back, but that didn't make it any less of a shock. He realised in hindsight that he should have knocked, and cringed as she turned her head; for the first time in quite some time, her stoic face faltered, her eyes widening as she looked at him with a perplexed face.
"Turn around." she demanded snappily, the Prince immediately complying as he heard her shuffling around, and the sound of fabric moving about; he cringed, knowing that he'd made a pretty stupid mistake, and though he wanted to apologise, she didn't even seem that angry, though he was unsure whether that was actually the case, or she really was that good at masking her emotions.
"Knocking, Zuko." she chided him, before she tapped him on the shoulder, "You're just lucky I was done washing myself."
"Uh... yes." he agreed with her, nervously turning around to see that she'd pulled a white bathrobe over her body, covering it fully; she had her eyes narrowed at him, and her emotions were harder than usual to discern.
"You were looking for a lot longer than you should have." she warned him, and the Prince turned away, feeling ashamed of his actions, or rather, lack of action.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be a pervert or anything." he tried to defend himself, and she rolled her eyes, before chuckling, patting the Prince on the shoulder before she stepped toward the door.
"Yes, I know that's the furthest thing from your mind." she admitted, though he couldn't be sure whether she was being sarcastic or not; when she turned around, she returned to a more serious tone, "How'd the lightning go? I heard an explosion a few minutes ago."
"Not well." he admitted, "But I've got to work out my thoughts... and then maybe I'll succeed."
"I guess it all is in the mindset." she noted, sounding ever so slightly amused, before she raised a hand, "Well, whatever, did you want to talk to me or something?"
"No, I'm here to wash." he admitted, and she raised her chin up.
"Yeah, you stink." she commented, and the Prince shrunk back a little as he remembered his intentions.
"But... I do want to talk to you. Once I'm done." he explained, and her eyes narrowed on him, scanning down his body.
"About what?" she asked, and the tone was notably suspicious; he didn't know what she was thinking, but he guessed that she could have drawn some inaccurate conclusions from his accidental peeping.
"How you feel about our situation." he told her the honest truth, and she chuckled.
"Oh, how I feel?" she asked, "I'm not Ty Lee, you know. I can't just talk about my feelings all the time." she reminded him, making the Prince chuckle a little.
"Uh, yeah." he noted, before shaking his head, "Do you not like it here?"
"It depends." she admitted, making the Prince raise a brow.
"Depends on what?"
"You." she simply told him, making him laugh, nervous as to what she meant by that.
"Me?" he asked, stepping back into the washroom, "You're your own person, Mai. You can be happy without having to worry about me."
"That's not what I'm talking about, Zuko." she chided him, clearly frustrated by his comment; he narrowed his eyes, realising that she might have meant 'you' in a different way- she wanted to know what he wanted to do.
"Sorry." he quietly apologised, before narrowing his eyes at her, "What do you want me to do?"
"Be your usual dorky self." she clarified, "And then we'll see what happens." she added, before striding over to the door, moving to close it for him, "I'll see you at my room, Zuko."
He tensed up, making an awkward smile as he stood there, and simply responded with the first thing that came to mind, "Yeah."
She pushed the door shut, and he heard her footsteps moving off into the distance; Zuko turned around, and raised his hands to his head, realising what she had been trying to imply through her words.
"Zuko, you moron."
