"What about Heilong," Azula's voice rang out in the clearing, exasperation clear in her tone. The cause of her frustration shook her head, the face noodles whipping back and forth, almost hitting Azula as she sat on a stump in front of the picky dragon.
Yes, that was correct. It was her.
It had been about one week since feeding the blasted lizard, whose name still alluded her, despite her best efforts. Really how difficult could it be to name something? Very, as she was finding out recently.
Her journey to figuring out a name had started with finding out his gender. Not a particulary difficult challenge, though it had ended with her learning an important.
Do not sneak up on a dragon, and if you do, do not tug their tail. Her prodigious mind made sure not to repeat that mistake after the tail smacked her face.
She'd never admit that particular blunder to anybody.
After the gender of the dragon had been discovered Azula had given her first shot at a name.
"Nobu," Azula stated with pride. The name was noble, and strong, and meant trust, something that was going both ways with this relationship. She thought it fit perfectly.
The pointed snort she received ended that thought quickly.
From there it had been name after name. She had consulted dictionaries, history scrolls, and dragon names as time passed. So far, none had stuck. She had found a rather picky dragon it would seem.
"Ughhh," Azula groaned, something she was not accustomed to doing. Groaning wasn't ladylike, as her tutors and mother would say, but she was long past the point of decorum. This dragon had a way of dragging such attitudes away from her. "What was wrong with that one? Matter of fact, what was wrong with the last ten!?"
The dragon gave her an unimpressed look, before laying her head down, ignoring any further attempts at names. Azula sighed, recognizing the futility of continuing. She was getting tired of this as well.
"Whatever," Azula stood, moving towards the basket of food she had placed down earlier and removing the lid, allowing the dragon access to happily eat her food. Azula allowed a small smile to spread across her face, the earlier exasperation fading.
The dragon was always happy to eat, and while the trip with the basket was tedious, it was getting easier. So far there had been no reports of missing food, and sneaking out remained as easy as ever, even with the basket weighing her down. She really ought to be more concerned about the inattentiveness of the guards.
As she sat back down she saw another fish drop near her feet, causing her to grimace even as she set about cooking the food. This too, loathe as she was to admit it, had become common. She still found herself lacking the ability to refuse the dragon's terrible gaze even after this long. She was beginning to fear she'd never become immune to it.
At the very least the fish was slightly more edible than the first. She was improving it would seem, and she didn't know how to feel about that.
Not long after she stood up, gave the dragon one last pat on her snout, and headed off.
She'd think of a name soon.
Line Break
Something was different about Azula, Mai mused to herself silently, staring at the girl from the corner of her eyes.
It had been a little over a week since the apology and Mai could see clear differences already. In the months leading up to now, Azula had almost always been tense, even when around her and Ty Lee. She hadn't allowed herself to relax, and signs of stress could be seen clearly, at least by Mai's observant eyes.
Recently though, that hadn't been the case. After her heartfelt apology, which still gave Mai a pleasant feeling when she thought about it, she had been more open. Smiles that had become scarce were more common, and her teasing was lacking the poison that had been becoming more common. Overall it was a very positive change.
But that isn't what had Mai curious.
As Mai looked at Azula, she saw her eyes slightly glazed over, even as they focused on the teacher. It was clear that while she was listening to the lesson, something else had her mind captivated.
That was odd.
Azula had always been intense, both in and outside of school. Zoning out was rare for the girl who always strived to be the best at what she did, yet it had been happening frequently over the last week.
To those who didn't know her, and likely to most of those who did, this wouldn't have been apparent, she was never one to telegraph her thoughts, but Mai saw it clearly.
Azula was hiding something. Something big enough to distract her in a way Mai hadn't seen before. Something that caused her to smile more than she ever had, to Mai's knowledge. She supposed there may have been some truth to Ty Lee's words about how "bright" Azula was recently.
'Well,' Mai thought, facing forward when Azula raised a brow at her, finally noticing she was being stared at. 'If it makes her happy, I won't pry.'
Still, Mai's curiosity was peaked. She wondered if she would learn about this secret eventually.
She hoped she would
Line Break
Azula was starting to dislike the library.
In the past, she had often found respite in the library. The library was almost always empty, outside of the few servants who maintained it, and had many spots where she could hide away with some new piece of knowledge.
This past week, that had not been the case.
She sighed to herself as she once again looked through the firebending section, eyeing scroll names that could help her discover more about this heat sensing she had found. So far there had been little.
Azula had been curious about this ability since she discovered it, and had used it many times over the past week, trying to better understand it. At first, she had thought it was something unique she felt only towards the (her) dragon, but upon further testing, she found she could sense other sources of heat. Animals, people, open flames, she could feel it.
Surely there was something written down about such a useful technique.
The only possible connection she had seen was from a manuscript on Firelord Sozin, her great-grandfather, who had mastered firebending to such a degree that he could bend heat. While interesting, and something she would keep in mind, that didn't feel accurate to what she was doing.
If she had to describe it, it was like she was connecting to the fire within her to such a degree that she could feel the heat from other sources, almost like she was resonating with it.
She had considered asking Lo and Li about this when she was practicing her bending with them but had withheld herself. While she doubted she discovered a new facet to firebending, she was prideful but not that prideful, she didn't want such an ability getting out. After all, the easiest source of heat she could sense were those with an inner flame. Firebenders…
And the dragon.
The dragon's flames felt like a beacon. Whether because of the blue fire (which she hoped to see more of) or because of her nature as a dragon, Azula didn't know, but the fact remained.
She wouldn't let something harm the (her) dragon.
Shaking her head to refocus on the task, Azula looked through the section of scrolls dedicated to firebending yet again. It was as she did this that she noticed something strange…
"None of these scrolls date much further than a hundred years," Azula mumbled to herself, quickly looking over the scroll's dates again. This was odd.
It was common sense that bending practices would go through growth and change as time passed, but why not know documented? Azula doubted that the current scrolls contained all of the firebending knowledge of times past. After all, hadn't she discovered a skill that only she seemed to possess?
Azula couldn't fathom why the knowledge wasn't here. The firenation palace boasted one of the greatest collections of knowledge of all time. It was old, having been built when the palace had been, several hundred years ago. It was odd that such knowledge would be missing.
Feeling curious, she decided to look over other sections of the library seeing similar findings. Most scrolls didn't date past a century, and those that did were odd. She hadn't noticed it before, but looking at an old history book, the information looked weird.
'The perspective on the writing changed,' she thought to herself, noticing that the tone and writing on the scrolls seemed to differ in select sections. She looked through other scrolls that dated further back and found that the same thing. This was weird…
"100 years," Azula muttered, her mind flashing to the obvious answer. That was when this war had started when the fire nation had killed the air benders who were preparing an assault on the firenation and began their march to bring prosperity to the other nations. It couldn't be a coincidence but…
Azula stopped herself and shook her head. She was getting distracted. It was clear that the knowledge she needed wouldn't be found here so she decided not to waste any more time. As she walked towards the exit she brushed her findings aside, as something insignificant.
As long as the knowledge to sense fire, and thus a hidden dragon, didn't exist then it was all the better for her. She had more immediate things to think about.
Line Break
Azula awoke, feeling more energized than she had recently. She had gotten back from the clearing earlier than normal, knowing that she would need energy for today.
It was her 10th birthday, and it was already starting badly.
She felt melancholic as she thought about the fact that she had woken up on her own today.
Azula had never been particularly close to her mother. They had had a tense relationship for as long as she could remember, with more screaming and scolding than conversations. Even so, every year on her birthday her mom would wake her up, spending the morning with her. It had been some of the only moments she could remember being the center of her mother's attention.
Azula felt the familiar ache of loneliness settles into her chest. As she got up for the day she couldn't help but let her mind drift.
When her mother had left she hadn't felt much, other than a pang at the thought that the last words her mother had said to her was 'go to her room.' Now though, as she dressed and got ready on her own she felt slightly downhearted. Trying to ignore the uncomfortable feelings, she got up and went to breakfast.
Line Break
Zuko had given her halfhearted happy birthday when she entered the room. While not having the energy she'd prefer, she was shocked that he had remembered at all. He had given an awkward smile when she paused at the words but quickly looked down when she met his eyes.
Despite how she felt, she let a small smirk grace her face, feeling at least a slight gratitude to Zuzu. She wouldn't let him know of course but that was beside the point.
She finished quickly and headed towards school, not surprised that her father hadn't been present. He was never present in the mornings, already focused on his duties, but she knew she would see him at dinner.
When she reached the school she froze as she felt a pair of arms encircle her tightly, almost causing her issues breathing.
"Happy Birthday Azula!" Ty Lee screamed happily into her ear. Azula looked at her, and, awkwardly, returned the hug. While Ty Lee was never shy with physical affection, Azula still found reciprocating odd. She thought she was getting better though.
"She'll start turning blue if you keep hugging her like that," came Mai's quiet voice as she walked towards the two, a small, amused smile on her lips. She had been left behind by Ty Lee in her excitement.
Ty Lee let go with a worried gasp, quickly looking over Azula to make sure she hadn't been injured in her tight grip. Azula let out an amused smile, and turned towards Mai, noticing the girl had her arms behind her back.
"Happy Birthday Azula," Mai quietly, but no less sincerely, said. She brought her arms out from behind her back, a slight tint of red visible on her face. "Me and Ty Lee got you this."
Azula's smile widened at receiving her first gift of the day. She grabbed it and began unwrapping it efficiently.
"I think you're going to love it!" Ty Lee said, bouncing on her toes giddily.
She seemed the most enthused about the gift, despite not being the one to receive it, Azula mused to herself. Deciding to finally see what was inside she opened the lid, and couldn't withhold the gasp that escaped her throat.
Inside was a beautiful dagger, with a beautiful dragon and blue fire emblazoned along the blade, shocking Azula at how it resembled the (her) dragon. The dagger was longer than the ones Mai enjoyed throwing, making it clear that it wasn't meant to be thrown.
The dagger brought her mind to the last gifts Iroh had sent her and Zuko. During the midst of his siege, a general of the Earth Kingdom had fallen, and his dagger was given to Iroh. Iroh had given Zuko the dagger, having held a soft spot for the boy, while she had received a doll. She hadn't thought she could be so unintentionally insulted. She took great relish in burning the useless toy.
She looked at the two girls who watched her nervously, particularly Ty Lee who was squirming in place as she waited for Azula to say something. Azula put the lid back on and smiled, ecstatic at the gift.
"Thank you," She said, joy evident in her voice. "It's perfect."
At her words, Ty Lee couldn't restrain herself further and dove in for another hug, one Azula returned more readily. As she did so, she looked at Mai who wore a small, content smile. Azula motioned with her head, knowing Mai would understand the silent question easily.
Mai joined the hug, wrapping her longer arms around them both. Azula allowed herself a moment to enjoy this feeling, the earlier bout loneliness all but forgotten as she stayed in the embrace.
They were broken up soon by the sound of people scurrying past them at a faster rate, making it clear that class was about to start.
As Ty Lee bounded ahead of them, Azula met Mai's eyes again, conveying her gratitude in the look. Mai nodded quickly and glanced away, hurrying to class. Azula followed, pleased that the day was turning around from its dreary beginnings.
Line Break
Dinner was largely uneventful. She had received a scroll from her father on advanced firebending techniques and acknowledgment about her growing skills as a bender.
She wondered if he would feel the same if he knew the reason behind her excellent performance as of late was focussing less on his expectations and more on the joy she felt from the activity. She supposed it didn't matter as she wouldn't be informing him anytime soon.
Throughout the day she had received various words of congratulations, though she found they paled in comparison to what she felt from Mai and Ty Lee. Either way, she accepted the words gracefully, as what was expected from her.
Her birthdays had always been small, which she was grateful for. Despite being a princess, up until this year she had been very far down in the order of ascension to the throne. Despite having risen considerably higher, she was still at the bottom, along with her uncle, who had been sending minimal information on his current ongoings and whereabouts.
Even if she had been the next heir she doubted there would have been a large gathering as there had been for Lu Ten and Iroh in previous years. Her father tended to avoid such gatherings.
Currently, she was getting ready to go to her now daily meetings with the dragon. She dressed accordingly, taking her new dagger along with her. She had already grown rather attached to the weapon.
Sneaking through the palace through hidden passageways she made it to the store room and set about filling the basket with a variety of meets, as was becoming habit. Once she had filled the basket she set about sneaking out of the palace, something that was easier than ever as she used her 'fire resonance', as she was calling it, to look for guards nearby. Sensing nothing, she continued, excited to see the still yet-to-be-named dragon.
She reached the clearing quickly, having grown accustomed to the not-insignificant amount of extra weight. She entered with much less hesitation than she had only a week before, knowing that she was probably safer with the dragon than without. It felt odd how quickly she had grown to trust the big lizard, but the fact remained that she had.
"Hello again, troublesome lizard," she said, smiling at the offended growl that came from the dragon. The dragon had perked up at seeing her, but after hearing her less than considerate greeting she lay back down, facing away from her. The dragon was too prideful for her good, Azula thought to herself, blind to the fact that the same could be said for her.
"Now now, no need to sulk, you look magnificent as always," the dragon's long tail wagged as she rose to her full height. Azula smiled but found her gaze pulled to the still-injured wing. She wasn't a dragon expert by any means, but she barely saw an improvement in her condition, if there was one at all. She'd look into that later…
Shaking her head, she set the basket down, letting the dragon have access to the food inside. As always, she sat on a stump near the dragon and sighed as she was given a raw fish. It seemed as though she couldn't avoid this fate even on her birthday. Feeling less hesitant than before, which wasn't a good thing she thought to herself, she began cooking the fish.
As she conjured her flame, Azula felt her gaze drift to the dragon. The dragon hadn't used her incredible blue fire since the night of their first meeting. Azula supposed that she should be glad that the dragon trusted her enough to not feel the need to use them, but in truth, she wanted to see them again.
After they had finished their food they sat in silence, the dragon resting her head on Azula's lap as she pets its blue fur, which was reminiscent of the fire she found so awe-inspiring. Gathering herself, she stopped the petting motion, catching the dragon's attention. As they met each other's gaze she asked the question that had plagued her for these last few weeks.
"Can I see your fire?" The question was simple and said so quietly that anyone nearby would have struggled to hear it, but the dragon's keen senses picked it up easily. Azula felt the dragon lift its head, her feline-like eyes meeting her own.
Like before Azula felt as though she were bare before the dragon's gaze, but there was something different about this time. Before it felt as though her entire being was being simply observed, beyond every layer to her very core. Now though, Azula felt like she was being… judged.
It was odd. Azula couldn't tell where the feeling came from. There wasn't any sound spoken between them, heck, she found she was having trouble hearing anything at all. As though the world around them had been paused and the ambient sounds with them But as she stared into the dragon's eye she somehow knew that she was being considered for something.
Azula found herself lost in the sensation, feeling her inner fire flaring, similar to when she used her resonation, but on a much more personal level. As though her chi, her essence, were somehow bonding with the dragons. She belatedly realized that that was exactly what was happening.
Azula had read a lot about dragons, especially since discovering the one in front of her. Some sections talked about the bond between dragon and man, but it was never written in detail. While she found that most books didn't date far past a century or so, she still found it odd that such important information wasn't written down. Now though, the answer was clear to her.
She had never felt something so personal as this bonding. It felt like she wasn't just herself anymore like she was something more than one person. Something greater. The two together, were greater than the sum of their parts.
She felt emotions and thoughts she was sure were not her own, flashes of places that she had never been to before. She caught glimpses of other dragons, a deep cave full of mysteries, and a few of the ocean she could have never imagined.
She felt herself, soaring through the sky, the feelings unimaginable as it was amazing. She felt free like the weight of the world was beneath her. She felt complete in a way she never knew was possible.
As these feelings took over her, she absently noted that her own life seemed to be flashing past her on display, experienced by the dragon in the same way hers was. Every high and low, excitement and sorrow, accomplishment and failure, was exposed. Normally, she'd have hated this, having her life so open to another. But as the experience faded, and she came back to herself in the forest…
She couldn't help but feel right. Any feeling of loneliness that had plagued her before vanished as she stared into powerful golden eyes, knowing that she would always have a partner. She knew with absolute certainty that she would never be alone again.
It was as she thought this, that her (it was hers) dragon opened her maw, a lick of blue fire visible. Azula stood from her seated position, somehow knowing what was wanted, no need of her. She breathed deeply, staring at her dragon with complete trust as the amount of blue fire increased.
And consumed her.
Despite knowing that she was being bathed in the hottest fire she had ever witnessed, she felt completely calm, knowing that she wouldn't be injured. It felt as though she were bathing, the fire warm and comforting despite its destructive capabilities.
Taking a deep breath, she started to move, grasping the fire as though it were her own, losing herself as she twisted and guided it. This felt different from her normal bending.
The movements she had been taught were more rigid and martial. Firebending that was meant only to destroy. Now though it felt like she was almost as though she was… dancing.
Azula's eyes opened, gazing at the marvelous flames that surrounded her and the dragon that had produced them, who was watching her intently. Azula finished the motions that felt seared into her mind slowly, allowing the fire to diminish until only a minuscule amount remained, floating above her hands.
Azula let out one last breath as she felt the fire fade out of existence, not experiencing any disappointment as she did so. She knew, even without producing more, that these flames were hers now, a gift that only she and her dragon possessed.
Azula walked forward and without hesitation hugged her dragon around the neck, burying her face and the blue fur that mirrored their shared flames. "Thank you," She murmured, joy and contentment encompassing her entire form at the gift she had received from the dragon. From her dragon.
The answering croon she received made her smile, feeling the dragon's matching feelings in the back of her mind. She'd have to look into that more later, but right now she was content to remain side by side with her partner.
She didn't know how long they remained in the clearing, though she guessed it was long past when she would normally depart. At some point, they had moved from a standing position to lying on the grass beneath them, remaining closely pressed together. As Azula looked at the sky she felt her mind return to the visions she had seen earlier.
One of the questions she had wondered about since meeting the dragon had now been answered. "You were hurt by another dragon weren't you," She asked softly, anger and curiosity merging within her. The mournful noise that emanated from the dragon only intensified the feelings.
The visions had happened quickly, and truthfully, Azula had been too caught up in the euphoric feelings to study them as much as she wanted to. What little she had seen though, answered her question, at least partly.
Her dragon's blue fire wasn't common amongst dragons, which caused her to be an outcast. The powerful and intense flames were seen as a threat. At some point recently, that had escalated into her dragon being hurt, and effectively left to die. Azula felt a deep rage she hadn't known was even possible at the thought.
"That doesn't matter," she said softly, lifting her head to stare at the dragon intently. "We're together now, and I don't intend on losing you anytime soon," She smiled, laughing at the attempt the dragon made to mirror her expression.
Sitting up completely now, knowing that she would have to go soon, she looked at the sky again. "It must be incredible being able to fly," Azula felt her dragon's confirmation echo within her mind, along with a longing to return to the sky. "We'll have to make sure you recover soon."
Azula returned her gaze to the dragon, her eyes blazing with fire as she smiled once more at her dragon. "After all, I expect you to take me with you, Sora."
In a book she had once read for school, she had seen the word, which meant 'sky.' It wasn't a common word, having fallen out of favor when the common tongue was adopted by all of the Nations. To her, the word fit her partner perfectly. The joyful chirp she received echoed her sentiments.
This was her favorite birthday yet.