Chapter 26 – the game of chicken
It was the start of a new week at The Northern Lights, and Katara faced it in a buoyant and excited mood. She had spent the Monday moving into her new two room apartment in the same general area as Yue and Suki, around fifteen minutes of walk from her two besties. The apartment was slightly larger and a little more expensive than Katara had been looking for, but both Azula and Sokka had reassured her that she would be able to afford it, and so Katara had gone for it. After she had noticed that the swimming pool of the apartment complex looked clean and well maintained, Katara had been sold on her choice. The fact that none of the windows of her apartment faced the scorching afternoon sun was just an icing on the top.
The move itself had been a lot easier than Suki's. Katara simply didn't have many belongings to her name, mostly because of the way her breakup with Jet had unfolded. After everything had been brought up to the third floor where her apartment was, the place still felt rather empty, and Katara knew that it would take months if not years to fully furnish it and make the place feel like her own. Still, despite the move requiring less effort, Katara felt very grateful towards all of her friends for showing up to do some backbreaking work. Even Azula and Toph had worked hard, and Katara was especially pleased that Ty Lee had once again joined in together with Sokka, seemingly unbothered by the whole restaurant rivalry. Katara was quickly becoming quite fond of Azula's quirky and happy-go-lucky childhood friend.
Katara knew that Azula was a little annoyed that her plans for another forest cottage retreat had been scrapped, but it wasn't even because of Katara moving into her new apartment. Someone had simply beaten Azula to the punch in renting the cottage for the weekend, which made Azula go all salty and mutter about how she was just going to buy the cottage so that they could have it at their disposal whenever they felt like spending time there. Katara had later cornered Azula in private to press her on whether she was being serious, and Azula had confessed that she wasn't nearly wealthy enough herself to buy a cottage, and would need daddy's money to do something like that. And it had also led to Azula admitting that she wasn't at all sure if Ozai would give her money for such an exorbitant purchase. The conversation had really helped Katara understand just how much anxiety Azula was experiencing because she was questioning just where she stood with her father.
On the whole, Katara could sense that she wasn't the only one feeling a little frustrated because the whole thing of hooking up with Azula still hadn't gone anywhere. Azula was determined to make something happen the next time they all had a day off, but with a long week ahead of them, Katara wasn't sure she was willing to wait until the next Monday, and she had a sneaking suspicion that the other girls felt the same way. However, opportunities for sexy shenanigans were not easy to find, because they still needed to work very hard every day. With Aang having requested a rare week off, they would all be hard pressed to pitch in and cover for his absence.
Following a smooth Tuesday lunch service, instead of letting them rest and relax for a few hours, Azula had recruited Katara and Yue for some of the promised training at serving dishes tableside. Azula had shoved three whole chickens in the kitchen ovens, and now the roasted fowl sat on large cutting boards in front of Yue and Katara, smelling deliciously as Azula prepared to demonstrate the proper technique for carving a chicken. Katara had spent a lot of time in her childhood handling game meat brought home by her father, as well as gutting and cleaning fish, so she felt very confident ahead of Azula's lesson. Yue, on the other hand, clearly looked a little intimidated by the huge roast chicken in front of her.
"Alright, let's get started with this bird," Azula began, picking up a pair of knives. "These are the tools you will need. This here is a carving knife," she pointed at the exceptionally long knife with a lightly serrated edge. "And this is a boning knife," she pointed at the much smaller knife. "I should hope the names are pretty self-explanatory."
"So far so good," Yue chuckled, but Katara could still see that her friend felt a little nervous, so she shot Yue an encouraging smile. Working at a restaurant, neither of them needed to do much cooking of their own. They both ate well while at work, and there was always something tasty for Yue to take home for Kya. Usually there were enough leftovers to share between them all so that none of them really needed to cook even on their days off, but since Katara loved cooking, she usually still did it when she was off work. From what Katara knew, Yue tried to skip any serious cooking during her off days because she was always trying to maximize her mother-daughter time with Kya, and Katara certainly didn't fault her friend for that.
"Anyway, grab your boning knives because we're going to start with the legs," Azula continued, motioning for Katara and Yue to pick up their tools and prepare to assault their birds.
"I usually don't start with the legs," Yue quipped, giving Azula a sly wink.
"Oh, I don't know, it depends on the legs," Katara grinned, pretending to check out Azula's legs, even if they were well hidden by the chef's overalls. Azula was back in the chef's uniform for the entire week of Aang's vacation, handling the vegan menu options and assisting Suki, although by this point Toph was ably taking more and more kitchen responsibilities upon herself.
"Calm down, you two, I'm trying to teach you something here," Azula sighed.
"We're also trying to teach you something," Katara winked, making Azula blush heatedly.
"Fair warning, though, if you start cracking jokes about being either a leg or a breast woman, I will stab you with the boning knife and then slice you up with the carving knife," Azula threatened. "Now, may I go on?" she asked, earning two silent, but amused nods from Katara and Yue.
"Good," Azula sighed. "So, as I was trying to say, first we slice off the leg and the thigh. Go in with the boning knife here, like this," she demonstrated, confidently cutting into the roast fowl. "Press downwards until you meet the bone. This is where the boning knife comes into play, because now you have to pull a little back and go around the bone. Then you push down on the leg and watch the joint pop out easily, just like this. Anyway, now it's your turn to do it."
"Shouldn't be a problem," Katara smiled, repeating exactly what Azula had done. This was much easier than anything she had done as an eleven-year-old, helping her mother skin, cut and process the game her father brought back from his regular hunting trips. After her mother's passing, Katara had done it all by herself, but by then, the hunting trips had become very rare because Hakoda utterly threw himself into the restaurant, which Katara only later realized was his way to escape the grief that had shattered them all.
"I can't get the joint to pop out," Yue complained, looking frustrated with her mangled bird.
"That's because you're not being firm enough," Azula lectured, walking up to Yue. "You're cutting like you're afraid that the bird is going to spring up and peck you to death. Here, I'll show you," Azula said, placing her hand on top of Yue's and guiding her through the rest of the process. Eventually the joint popped out and the leg was successfully separated from the rest of the carcass. Also, with Azula standing very close and lightly pressing up against Yue, it looked as if Yue was enjoying the whole experience a great deal and watching it made Katara's jealousy bubble just a tiny bit.
"Damn it, I shouldn't have done such a good job, then I also could have received such a close and personal instruction," Katara muttered, making both Yue and Azula snicker.
"So, you're saying you need an incentive to do well?" Azula smirked at Katara. "I think I can help with that." Azula then walked back to her station, picking up her boning knife. "Anyway, getting back to the task at hand, now we remove the wings by doing the same as with the legs. Go down with the boning knife and pop out the joint, it's easy enough," Azula said, demonstrating the process. Katara easily replicated Azula's actions, and Yue also did reasonably well even if she was still a touch too hesitant.
"Alright, that's not too bad," Azula admitted. "Now that the wings and legs have been removed, it's time to get started on the breasts." Katara and Yue both exchanged stares and giggled, making Azula roll her eyes. "Alright, so this is what we call the keel bone," Azula said, poking the carcass of her roast fowl. "We remove the breasts by cutting alongside the keel bone, and the right technique to do it is like this… you cut down slowly while pulling the breast away from the keel bone," Azula demonstrated. "This way, as you reach the bottom, the breast just pops right out. And please, no dirty or immature comments," she added hastily, correctly sensing that Katara and Yue were both about to speak up.
Katara once again replicated Azula's technique almost perfectly, easily separating the breast from the rest of the carcass. Yue took a while longer to manage the same, and she looked a little red in the face once she had finished, but Azula deemed the end result acceptable, giving Yue an approving nod of the head.
"Alright, it's time to grab the slicer and finish the job," Azula ordered. "First we separate the thigh from the rest of the leg. And finally, we cut the breast into nice thick slices. That's it, your tableside carved roast chicken is ready to serve."
"It seems easy enough," Katara remarked. Working with the boning knife felt very natural to her. The slicer felt more like a saw just because of how long it was, so the process of carving was a little awkward, but Katara managed the task well enough.
"I think I can do it, but I would like to practice some more," Yue admitted.
"That's all well and good, my dear, but I don't have an endless supply of roast chicken for you to practice on," Azula replied. Yue pouted a little bit. "Alright, fine, I'll pop a couple of birds in the oven tomorrow," Azula sighed, making Yue brighten up. "Anyway, I think it's obvious that Katara did an overall better job, so… I guess you wanted a reward?" Azula looked at Katara.
"Unless your idea of reward is making me clean the kitchen," Katara laughed, watching Azula in anticipation.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so cruel," Azula smirked, sauntering up to Katara and leaning in for a kiss. Katara would have preferred for the kiss to last much longer, but Azula pulled back way too early for her liking. "Anyway, you two get to clean up the kitchen together," Azula laughed as she turned to walk away.
"Hey, since I won, I totally should be excused from cleaning," Katara called after Azula, but to no avail. She turned around to face Yue, her friend mockingly sticking a tongue out at her. "Oh, how very mature," Katara rolled her eyes.
Yue tried to glare, but ended up bursting into laughter soon after. "Whatever," she chuckled. "Let's just get this place clean before Suki shows up for service and yells at us for making a mess…"
It was a quiet Thursday afternoon in Caldera City and Azula was using the break between services to catch up with her childhood besties Mai and Ty Lee. With The Blue Spirit closed for a couple of days until the exterminator dealt with the mice and ant infestations, Mai and Ty Lee both had time on their hands and they had invited Azula to hang out with them. Azula had been happy to accept the invitation not only because she enjoyed spending time with her best friends, but also because she wanted to use the opportunity to learn just how much damage her sabotage had caused for Zuko's restaurant.
The mid-May weather was finally becoming suitably warm for Azula's liking, creating the perfect opportunity to sit outside on an open terrace at one of the many downtown cafés. As always, Azula arrived first, good ten minutes before the appointed time, choosing a table, ordering a coffee and spending time browsing her phone as she waited for her friends to arrive. Ever since the chaotic health and safety inspection, Azula had not heard any further news from her father, leaving her in an anxious limbo as she couldn't stop worrying whether Ozai was displeased with her or not. Perhaps the lack of communication was actually intentional in order to create this kind of anxiety, Azula certainly would not put it past her father.
"Azula, bestie!" Ty Lee's voice pulled Azula out of her musings as she looked up to see her friends approaching. Azula was immediately pulled out of her seat and smothered in a Ty Lee hug. Mai's embrace was way more reserved, but still warm. "So good to see you!" Ty Lee continued to gush. "Sorry about any lateness, we came straight from the beach."
"Yes, I can see that," Azula snorted. Ty Lee wasn't wearing much that counted as functional clothing over her skimpy bikini. Mai was wearing a black sundress with a white wildflower motif which seemed a little out of character for her until Azula noticed that the white wildflowers were splattered with tiny droplets of blood.
"Too bad you couldn't join us," Ty Lee made a sad face as she and Mai both sat down and Mai immediately flagged down a waitress to order coffee and ice cream for herself and Ty Lee. "Sometimes being stuck at work really sucks."
"I think this restaurant owner might disagree," Azula said, nodding at Mai. Mai and Ty Lee were always such complete opposites in the way they expressed themselves, but on this day, the difference between them seemed starker than ever. Ty Lee was so hyper that she was literally bouncing in her seat, while Mai appeared oddly downcast for someone who had supposedly enjoyed a fun day at the beach. "Closing the restaurant is probably hitting you hard, right?" Azula tried.
"It's not the end of the world," Mai shrugged. "We've been doing surprisingly well since opening, so financially this isn't going to slow us down."
"That's good, I suppose," Azula said, feeling a tiny bit disappointed. Closing The Northern Lights for a couple of days would have been disastrous when their profit margins were still quite vulnerable. It irked Azula that Zuko and Mai could shut down The Blue Spirit without it being much of a problem. "I hope you don't expect an apology. We agreed to be cool with this competition," Azula said.
"Of course, I don't expect an apology," Mai snorted. "I know that Zuko and Jet have been causing problems for you, as well."
"It's not you who Mai is annoyed with, anyway," Ty Lee added with a conspiring wink. "It's someone else, but they share your last name."
"Oh dear," Azula chuckled. "What has old Zuzu done now?"
"He just kept continuously annoying the exterminator, which is why it took us so long to get him to come in," Mai sighed. "I had to step in and do ass kissing. I had to do ass kissing, me. Do you realize how demeaning that experience was?"
"I'm just shocked that you did it and it worked," Azula remarked, feeling surprised.
"Yes, well," Mai frowned. "You know the contentious relationship I have with my folks. I can't let the restaurant fail because it would validate their already low opinion of me. They wouldn't have even allowed me to run this restaurant unless I had a man at my side, holding my hand. But Zuko is only of benefit to the restaurant for as long as he's in the kitchen, cooking. Anything he does outside of the kitchen is a flaming disaster."
"But it's not just about Zuko not being supportive enough around the restaurant, is it, Mai?" Ty Lee asked, giving her friend a meaningful stare.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Mai replied. Despite Mai hiding her eyes behind dark shades, her tone of voice and posture gave away a flagrant lie. Ty Lee continued to firmly stare Mai down, until Mai gave in and let out a defeated sigh. "When did you become so perceptive, anyway?" she complained.
"She has always been perceptive," Azula said. "It's just easy to forget because most of the words coming out of Ty Lee's mouth form incoherent gibberish."
"That's not a very nice thing to say," Ty Lee glared at Azula before turning her attention back to Mai. "Anyway, spill the beans, Mai. We've always shared things about our relationships, there's no reason to stop now."
"Well, there are things about Zuko that I definitely do not wish to know, so sharing too many details might compel me to drink bleach," Azula said. "But still, I agree with the overall sentiment. Stop being a stubborn bitch and share," Azula demanded, looking at Mai.
"I just feel as if Zuko and I are falling back into the old pattern that keeps repeating with us," Mai sighed. "He keeps coming back to me, but then after a while he just starts taking me for granted. Or, I don't know, maybe he just gets bored of me." Mai almost looked a little vulnerable as she spoke, and it wasn't something Azula ever expected to get from her old friend. Azula was still contemplating how to respond when Mai quickly recomposed herself. "Whatever, ignore me, I was merely rambling," she said, trying to appear unconcerned.
"I agree that Zuko doesn't appreciate you enough," Ty Lee spoke sympathetically, patting Mai's hand.
"I don't really care about that, it's just Zuko being Zuko. I'm not one for big gestures, either," Mai shrugged. "But sometimes I feel like he just doesn't respect me as much as I deserve to be respected. Especially when he makes all those unilateral decisions about the restaurant, when he really should consult me beforehand. And also, the amount of time he's spending with Jet, and the way Jet always has Zuko's ear? Sorry, maybe I'm a petty bitch, but that annoys me."
"Have you told him any of this?" Ty Lee asked.
"Of course not," Mai snorted. "That would be the most awkward and painful conversation of my existence up to this point and I'm not ready for it."
"Wait, can we rewind to something you said?" Azula asked, her attention lingering on a particular detail. "What did you mean by saying that Zuko spends a lot of time with Jet?"
"I don't honestly know what I meant," Mai shrugged. "It just annoys me how quickly they've become joined at the hip. I guess it's because Jet is the only one at The Blue Spirit who's so passionate about that stupid rivalry between you and Zuko."
"I think it's mostly just because Jet hopes to bang Zuko," Ty Lee snorted.
"Ugh, please don't tell me that Zuko is actually interested in Jet," Azula groaned, feeling a little sick. "As if my opinion of my brother couldn't sink any lower."
"I think Zuko is oblivious about the game Jet is playing," Ty Lee said. "As he is about great many things."
"The way he's in denial reminds me of myself some three years ago," Azula chuckled. "And even if Zuko acknowledges something about himself, he'd still be too scared to come out of the closet, because he probably thinks that I would snitch on him to Ozai."
"None of this is of any comfort to me, you know," Mai sighed. "All of this makes me feel like I'm to Zuko what Chan is to you, and I don't know if I can accept that."
"You're wrong about that. You mean way more to Zuko than Chan means to Azula, I'm sure of it," Ty Lee shook her head sadly. "I know Zuko cares about you, but unless he's made to understand how he's being a negligent boyfriend, he's never going to do better."
"Well, I don't know if I want to do the whole relationship therapy with Zuko," Mai groaned. "Maybe it's a sign that I don't care enough, myself. But I guess that's a question only I can answer."
"I guess so," Ty Lee sighed, looking a little sad. Her downcast mood didn't linger, however, as she soon smiled brightly again. "Anyway, at least my new relationship is thriving. Sokka is the best thing that's happened to me in… well, since we became friends, I guess."
"I suppose I can understand that. Sokka seems to be a largely acceptable male," Azula conceded. "I would go as far as to say that he would make for a much better fake boyfriend than Chan."
"Hey, get your grubby paws off Sokka!" Ty Lee exclaimed, threateningly waving her ice cream spoon at Azula. "We all know you want the sister, anyway!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Azula muttered unconvincingly.
"You do realize that I hear about everything that takes place at The Northern Lights, right?" Ty Lee laughed. "I know all about you and your harem." Mai made a sound that sounded suspiciously like strained laughter, looking very amused.
"Don't call them my harem, you nitwit," Azula groaned. "I won't stand for my girls being slandered like that."
"Your girls, huh?" Mai remarked pointedly. "Good job defending yourself from the rumors, Azula."
"We really shouldn't tease her too much, Mai," Ty Lee winked at her taciturn friend. "We don't want to push her back into the closet. I want to be here for Azula's proper gay awakening, because I know it's going to be a glorious sight."
"You are utterly insufferable, Ty Lee. I hope you'll get a heat stroke and die," Azula glared. Ty Lee made sad puppy eyes at Azula in response, making her sigh. "Ugh, whatever, bitch. I guess I don't want you to die."
"Yay, she loves me," Ty Lee exclaimed as the conversation devolved mostly into nonsense, with Ty Lee talking nearly all the time, leaving Mai and Azula to listen, make the occasional quips and exchange long suffering stares.
When it was finally time to part and go their separate ways, Azula found herself getting hugged once again. "I'm sorry," were the words that for some reason escaped Azula's mouth while sharing an embrace with Mai.
"What are you apologizing for?" Mai asked, looking genuinely confused.
"Yes, are you alright, Azula?" Ty Lee added, smiling.
Azula considered her reply for a good while. "You know, it's weird, but… I've spent so much time at The Northern Lights, surrounded by people who genuinely care about each other. And I guess it's… rubbed off on me a little bit?" she tried, feeling embarrassed. "I don't know, maybe it's just made me more aware."
"Aware of what?" Mai pressed.
"Aware of how trapped you must feel by this rivalry between me and Zuko," Azula said. "I just never really considered how hard it must be to balance our friendship with your relationship with Zuko."
"It's not that hard," Mai shrugged. "I've made it clear to you both that I'm simply not going to get involved in it."
"I understand that," Azula said quickly. "But I just thought that… if you sided with Zuko and denounced me and our friendship, Zuko would literally worship the ground you thread upon. I simply realized that I'm part of the reason why your relationship isn't better."
"Wow, that's pretty deep, Azula," Ty Lee grinned. "I'm impressed."
"Listen, it is what it is," Mai shrugged. "But to be clear, I've never blamed you or been angry with you for the way things are. There's only one person I blame for this situation, and it's not you. And it's not Zuko, either."
"Oh… I see," Azula realized. She supposed that it made sense for Mai to dislike, or even hate Ozai. "So… still best friends?" she asked hopefully.
"Always and forever, dumbass," Ty Lee grinned, squishing her and Mai in a tight and reassuring group hug.
"I swear we're being haunted by a ghost," Katara said with a completely serious expression on her face. "There is no other explanation for what I have witnessed."
"Excuse me for being skeptical, but what you have witnessed was just some footfall and the sounds of someone leaving through the back entrance, right?" Toph asked with a smirk on her face. Friday's dinner service was coming to an end and with no new customers to welcome, Katara and Yue had popped into the kitchen for a chat as Suki, Azula and Toph began to clear down for the evening.
"Yes, that hardly seems enough evidence for a haunting," Azula nodded in agreement. "Sorry, Katara," she added quickly like a complete simp, probably having noticed the disappointment on Katara's face. Obviously, Suki herself didn't believe in the ghost story, either, but with Toph and Azula already being so skeptical, she didn't feel the need to dunk extra on Katara.
"Well, Yue actually saw it, so I think we have plenty of evidence," Katara replied defiantly.
"I definitely saw something, but Kat, I'm not sure it was a ghost," Yue said, still looking spooked. "It was more like a… creature? And a big one, too."
"So, what did this creature look like?" Suki decided to ask.
"I don't know if I want to tell you," Yue frowned. "You're just going to make fun of me."
"I swear I'm not going to laugh," Suki promised earnestly.
"Hmm, well alright then," Yue finally relented. "I know it's going to sound very silly, but the creature I saw down in the basement looked like a giant chicken." Toph burst into laughter at that, and Azula was also obviously struggling to contain laughter. "Toph! I'm being serious!" Yue exclaimed.
"Hey, I didn't promise I wasn't going to laugh," Toph wheezed. "This is amazing, though. A giant chicken! For once I actually regret being blind because I would love to see that!"
"Ugh, I knew this would be the reaction if I told you," Yue huffed, looking offended. "Well, I'm just telling you that I'm not going down to the basement anymore, at least not all by myself. Not until I know that the creature is gone."
"Likewise," Katara echoed her friend. "Ghost or creature, it doesn't really matter. Something or someone is messing about in our basement and it's freaking us out. Whatever it is, it could be dangerous, so I think a bit more seriousness is merited here."
"Maybe it's the demonic cat from Zuko's restaurant," Azula mused. "I wouldn't put it past that thing. It was clearly evil."
"It wasn't the cat," Yue shook her head. "The creature was way larger than a cat, and also, it's eyes weren't glowing red. Anyway," she spoke haughtily, turning around. "I better return to my customers. They clearly appreciate me more than you do."
"Same," Katara turned to follow Yue. "You guys are so joyless in your skepticism, denying yourself so many wonders and surprises of the spiritual world," she declared, heading out of the kitchen.
"Them bitches be so sensitive," Toph laughed as she was loading up the dishwasher. "Do you know if they're having their periods?"
"How would I know that?" Azula shrugged. "Then again, I saw them both viciously attack a box of chocolates earlier, so… perhaps?"
"Do you think maybe we were wrong to be so dismissive?" Suki asked a while later, as they were about to wrap up the tasks of cleaning the kitchen.
"No way," Toph laughed. "Ghosts? Creatures? Are you kidding me? It was probably some hobo wandering in through the unlocked back entrance."
"I suppose that could be it," Suki nodded in agreement. "Still, I think it might be a good idea to check out the basement. Azula, would you like to join me?" Suki asked, having hatched a clever plan while cleaning up her station.
"I don't think so, Suki," Azula shook her head. "It seems like a waste of time. You know how superstitious and easily spooked Yue and Katara are."
Suki had expected Azula to dismiss the offer, but fortunately, she was prepared for this eventuality. "I just thought that you might want to join in on the off-chance that this could be another braindead scheme cooked up by your brother and Jet," Suki said, knowing that this idea was sure to get Azula's attention.
"Wait, how did I not think of that?" Azula gave Suki a wide-eyed stare. "It totally has to be another one of Zuko's ham-fisted attempts at sabotage. Alright, you've won me over, let's go and explore the basement."
Suki grinned to herself as together with Azula they proceeded downstairs, slowly and meticulously moving from one room to another, making sure they didn't miss any signs of ghosts or giant chicken creatures. As Suki had expected, it was all a wild goose chase, and after examining the largest of the rooms that had once served as Toph's microwaving station, but had since been converted into a functional and well-stocked pantry, they came up with nothing.
"Of course, I should have known we would find nothing," Azula let out a bored yawn, looking disappointed. "Come on, let's get back upstairs."
"Wait a moment," Suki grinned, reaching out and grabbing Azula's hand. "There was another reason why I asked you to join in for this ghost hunt," Suki spoke huskily, pulling Azula closer. "I just wanted you all to myself for a bit."
"Oh," Azula managed, looking very flushed and excited. "A well-executed maneuver. I wholly approve."
"I thought you might," Suki grinned wolfishly as she pushed Azula up against the wall. Soon enough, they were passionately making out, forgetting all about any potential ghosts or creatures nearby. Suki was feeling a little frustrated that the whole hooking up with Azula thing hadn't progressed any further, so she poured all of those frustrations into kissing Azula with ferocious intensity. Fortunately, it seemed like Azula was very much into this fiercer treatment, because she responded with equal passion. Suki wasn't exactly a fan of having sex in weird places like dingy basements, so she didn't intend to take things much further, but there was plenty of satisfaction to be found in shared kisses and exciting over the clothes action.
They had been at it for at least good five minutes, when Suki was alerted by strange noises nearby, making her stop kissing Azula. It seemed as if Azula had also heard the sounds because she didn't whine about no longer being kissed. "What is that?" Suki whispered, holding Azula close as they listened to the sounds of someone rummaging about nearby.
"Too loud for a ghost," Azula whispered back. "It must be the creature. Although, it's probably Zuko or Jet."
"I'm going to sneak a peek," Suki whispered. She leaned out from behind a cover of shelves, trying to take a better look in the dim light, immediately pulling back when she saw the dark shape of a distinctly non-human creature. "Shit, Yue was right," Suki whispered, unable to believe her own words. "It definitely looks like a giant cock."
Azula nearly burst into laughter, forcing Suki to cover Azula's mouth with her palm. "You are shitting me," Azula whispered after Suki had removed her palm. "There's no such thing as a giant rooster."
"Take a look for yourself," Suki whispered, moving aside and letting Azula take a gander.
Azula pulled back, looking significantly paler and a bit frightened. "It does look like a giant chicken," she admitted. "What do we do?"
"Well," Suki reasoned. "There's two of us and one of them. I reckon we can take them."
"Alright," Azula nodded nervously. "On the count of three?" Suki nodded back. "Three, two… one," Azula counted quietly, after which they broke cover and yelled like a couple of crazy amazons as they charged at the very surprised looking giant bird. They crashed into the bird and all three of them went down in a heap, tearing off the large bird's head in the process.
"Did we get it?" Azula asked, slowly rising from the ground and fumbling around for her phone. Eventually, she managed to light the torch moments ahead of Suki. "Ah!" Azula exclaimed. "It ate Aang!"
"Uh, Azula?" Suki asked, struggling not to laugh. "I think if we were to employ logic and common sense, we would arrive at the explanation that this is Aang wearing a yellow parrot suit."
"Oh," Azula immediately calmed down, looking sheepish. "Uh, why is Aang wearing a parrot suit? What gives?"
"I imagine he should be able to explain it to us," Suki grinned, kneeling next to Aang and gently patting his cheeks until he opened his eyes and reared his head, groaning in pain.
"Ugh… what happened?" Aang moaned, slowly coming back to his senses. He seemed completely incapable of getting back up to his feet in the unwieldy parrot suit, so Suki did her best to prop him back upright. "Why did you guys attack me?" Aang asked.
"We didn't attack you," Azula retorted, looking very defensive. "Or at least, we didn't think it was you. We were attacking either a ghost, or a creature, take your pick. I presume this isn't the first time you've snuck in here while posing as a giant avian, so I think an explanation is in order! Both Yue and Katara are traumatized by your antics!"
"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any problems," Aang looked deeply apologetic. "I suppose I might as well explain myself now that the cat is out of the bag."
"Don't you mean the parrot is out of the bag?" Suki chuckled.
"True, that also works," Aang laughed. "Anyway, so… I guess I should start by explaining why I was so insistent on having this week off. You see, this is the week of Caldera City's annual furry convention and… well, I'm taking part."
"Okay, wow… not what I would have guessed," Suki blinked, exchanging stares with an equally surprised Azula. "That doesn't really explain what you're doing here, though. The Northern Spirit is not hosting the furry con, at least not to my knowledge."
"No, but the exhibition center two streets down sure is," Aang replied brightly. "So, I've been using the back entrance to sneak in here to put on and take off my parrot suit. But the zipper on the back is always giving me so much trouble, and I guess I must have caused quite the ruckus trying to open and close it."
"Of all the possible explanations," Azula snorted, then bursting into laughter, with Suki and Aang also joining her, overcome by the bizarre situation. "So, why were you so embarrassed about admitting that you are a furry?" Azula said a while later, looking at Aang. "Did you think we would make fun of you?"
"Uh… yes?" Aang shrugged. "Sokka in particular always makes fun of furrydom. And I thought you would also think I'm being ridiculous," he said, blushing.
"I mean… maybe, but I have no beef with you being ridiculous in your private life," Azula shrugged. "You're still a good friend and an excellent employee, so I don't really care that you get your rocks off by dressing up as a giant parrot."
"It's not really about that, it's more about connecting with your inner spirit animal," Aang protested.
"I'm sure it is, Aang, but maybe save that for your fellow furry friends," Suki smirked, making Aang sigh. "Anyway, I think we should probably tell Katara and Yue the truth about this haunting."
"Must we?" Azula looked uncertain. "There's potential in letting them believe that we've been visited by a ghost… or a creature. Although, I suppose that would be a little mean."
"Just a little," Suki nodded. "I'm not a fan of gaslighting our friends."
"Yes, that doesn't sound good," Aang agreed, nodding vehemently. "I guess you better tell them."
"Hmm, you would like that, wouldn't you, Mr. Parrot Man?" Azula scowled at Aang. "Considering that this chaos is all of your making, I think Katara and Yue deserve to hear an explanation from a giant parrot. So, you're coming upstairs with us and then you're coming clean about this whole affair."
"Fine," Aang sighed. "I guess it was a little silly of me to imagine that I could keep something like this to myself…"
Despite trying to move on and not think about it, the conversation she'd had with Azula and Ty Lee would not leave Mai's head for the next couple of days. Even if Mai acknowledged that she was frustrated in her relationship with Zuko, she desperately wanted to avoid a heart to heart with her boyfriend, because a conversation about feelings and emotions was just about the most unpleasant thing that Mai could imagine.
Still, here Mai was at 2:30am on Friday night, holed up in her bedroom and trying to read a book, while doing her best to ignore the sounds coming from the living room where Zuko and Jet kept yelling like insufferable teenagers, while playing Helldivers on Zuko's PlayStation and laughing like maniacs every time one of their characters was eaten by giant bugs or ended up falling into lava. This was clearly not a normal situation, and by the time Jet eventually left, Mai's anger was simmering and about to reach a boiling point.
"Oh, you're not sleeping?" Zuko asked, finally dragging himself back to their bedroom. His dumb question irked Mai even more, because to her it just showed how little Zuko actually thought of her.
"Are you serious? How do you imagine me being able to sleep with all that racket you and Jet were causing?" Mai hissed at her boyfriend.
"Damn, sorry," Zuko had the decency to actually look apologetic. "You should have said something."
"Yes, because apparently I need to remind you that I exist, or else you'll forget," Mai frowned.
"I would never forget that," Zuko replied, starting to undress before getting into the bed with her. He leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek, looking surprised when Mai pulled away and avoided it. "Wait… are you seriously pissed?" Zuko blinked, finally noticing the obvious. "Are we really going to have an argument at 3am in the morning?"
"I wasn't trying to start an argument," Mai snapped. "But I guess it's clear that a serious conversation is overdue."
"About what?" Zuko demanded.
Mai hesitated. She knew that the mature and right thing to do would be to explain the reasons why she felt frustrated in their relationship, and give Zuko a chance to correct his behavior, working on their relationship like rational adults. However, this relationship with Zuko was shaping up like a union in which she was having to do all the emotional pulling, and Mai wasn't sure that she was interested in doing all this work for Zuko. Obviously, all relationships required work, and she was willing to put in some of it, but she was not willing to work for Zuko. If Zuko couldn't figure this shit out for himself, then maybe it just wasn't meant to be. But first, Mai wanted to be sure that Zuko even wanted to try, and the key to that was to remind her boyfriend not to take her for granted.
"I'm not happy, Zuko," Mai said stiffly. "I haven't been happy for a while. I want to change things up."
"First of all, you're never happy, Mai," Zuko scowled. "Second, what does it mean to change things up? Are you breaking up with me?"
"Not unless that's what you want," Mai shrugged. "We can stay together, but I think we should let each other date other people too. Try out not being exclusive."
Zuko jumped out of the bed and started pacing back and forth. "This is about Ruon Jian, isn't it?" he near-shouted. "You want to hook up with that slimy bastard! Maybe you've already done it behind my back!"
"How dare you accuse me of cheating?" Mai glared fiercely, making Zuko wilt and back down slightly.
"Well, he clearly wants to smash you," Zuko glared back. "If this isn't about Ruon Jian, then what is this about?"
"Maybe it is about Ruon Jian," Mai was by now so annoyed that she decided to roll with the lie. "But I'm giving you an opportunity to hook up with one of your girls, whether it's Jin, On Ji or Jet that you want."
"I want you, Mai. But it's clear that my feelings aren't being reciprocated on the same level," Zuko snapped. He then seemed to remember something. "Wait, also Jet isn't a girl. I don't hook up with guys, you know that," he added, much too late.
"But you would like to, so here I am giving you the permission to do that," Mai said. "With how much time you and Jet are spending together, one might assume that you're dating already."
"Jet is the only one who understands how important it is for me to win this competition against Azula," Zuko snapped. "He's actually helping me, whereas your support has been very lacking."
"I made it very clear from the start that I will not be a part of your feud with Azula," Mai replied. "Also, you're an idiot to believe that Jet really cares about what winning your father's favor means to you. He's just exploiting your toxic relationship with your sister for his own benefit!"
"Bullshit," Zuko shook his head defiantly. "Jet has no ulterior motives here. He's just being a good and supportive friend."
"Sometimes I can't decide whether you're stupid or gullible," Mai groaned. "It's probably a bit of both."
"Are you done insulting me?" Zuko shouted at her. "Ugh, I'm done with this. I'm so over your bullshit. I don't deserve any of this." Zuko grabbed his pillow and duvet and turned to leave the bedroom. "I'll be on the sofa when you're ready to apologize for being a total bitch."
"Screw you, Zuko," Mai shouted after him as Zuko slammed the bedroom doors with such a force that it made the painting above Mai's bed fall down and smack her on the back of her head. Mai set the painting aside and just sat there for a good while, rubbing her aching head and struggling not to cry.
Over the many years of on and off dating, Mai and Zuko had broken up four times already before coming back together. Until now, their breakups had always happened for the same reason of Ozai blowing the whistle and Zuko running to his father like a good obedient puppy. Ozai had no respect whatsoever for Zuko's personal relationships and he enjoyed sending his son on assignments all over the place, making it impossible for Mai to follow Zuko while having a meaningful life of her own, meaning that all those past breakups could be seen as due to circumstances beyond their control.
Their current problems felt very different, however. For once, Mai couldn't blame Ozai Nakamura for her failing relationship, and it left Mai with an unpleasant sinking feeling in her gut.