Chapter Text
Chapter 5:
One of the worst things to Azula is people talking without reason. Filling silence with inordinate amounts of prattling and not allowing for a single moment of peace.
And yet, since childhood, it was one of her favourite things about Ty Lee. Not that she’d ever willingly admit such a thing.
Ty Lee’s silence now was so loud that it was horribly unnerving.
Mai made eye contact with Ty Lee from across the tank, before the acrobatic girl gave a small nod. The vehicle immediately skidded to a halt, wrenching all of them forward for a moment. Mai once again pulled a lever back to shut off the engine, leaving them in a sudden silence.
Silence, because Azula was utterly confused as to why exactly these two idiots had decided to stop in the middle of nowhere.
“Mai, Care to explain why you-“ Azula spoke in a bored, slightly irritated tone. That was, of course, until she was interrupted.
“We should talk.” Ty Lee stated.
Azula clamped her mouth shut in indignation at Ty Lee’s flippant disregard for respect. She’s interrupted Azula more times this week than she’d ever been in her entire life.
“So? Speak.” They really needed to get this over with.
Mai let out a sigh, standing up and gesturing for them to go outside.
Azula wanted to protest, however when Ty Lee went to move after her—still as silent as a ghost—she knew the argument would only be futile.
The exit once again clattered with a bang as it was lowered, crushing everything beneath it. They found themselves in the woods, the pines native only to the Earth Kingdom swaying slightly with a small breeze.
Surprisingly, Mai started the conversation, albeit looking a bit begrudged.
“We’re not moving until you tell us what’s going on.”
“you’re under the impression that it’s your decision?” Azula drawled, looking unimpressed at their odd attempt at an intervention.
“It is today.” Mai crossed her arms, daring her to argue back.
Azula had to admit, in the years since she last saw them, her companions had only gotten bolder and more fearless.
“Why are you helping them?” Ty Lee finally spoke up. She wore a meek, serious expression—like she was scared of an answer.
Azula actually had to sigh this time. Despite their audacity only growing, their intellect clearly still needed work.
“This war isn’t worth what it’s costing us.”
They both frowned at her.
“What do you mean?” Mai asked almost impatiently.
“The Fire Nation, despite being as powerful as it is, is falling apart.” She stated before continuing, “Our people have been propagandised, our resources drained to fight in a war that has gone on for a century,”
She pauses for a moment.
Lu Ten.
“We’ve lost so many lives, as young as twelve, just to keep our power.”
Did they really believe she could leave the Nation in the state it was in? Her duty was to her people, just as it was for anyone in the Fire Nation.
Ty Lee looked down.
Mai held her hand up, stopping her from continuing.
“I understand…” she calmly answered.
Azula blinked.
“But that doesn’t explain why you let them injure you.”
“That was a miscalculation on my part,” She reluctantly replied, “I foolishly thought my father would allow for a…grace period for me to recover after an injury.”
“So you thought, what, that allowing Katara to nearly kill you would let them have a few precious weeks?”
“it was a miscalculation-“ Azula retorted.
“But why not me? Why not Ty Lee?” Mai pointedly asked.
Then Azula hesitated. She hesitated and that said everything.
Her jaw clenched as words continued to fail her, and moments turned into silence. For the first time in years, Azula couldn’t think of what to say.
She looked away.
Ty Lee’s expression softened.
“…Azula?”
“Don’t patronise me, Ty Lee” She snapped, watching the other girl flinch.
Mai shook her head towards Ty Lee, silently trying to communicate something.
Something Azula couldn’t discern.
Whatever Mai had communicated, the pink-clad girl’s expression changed, making her drop the matter entirely—once again levelling her gaze to the floor in defeat.
Azula turned away from them, marching back to the tank with a practiced, even stride. She would not let their little interrogation stop them from completing their task.
Or at the very least making the pursuit look believable.
as she walked past, a small tuft of fur was snagged in between the branches of a tree and caught her eye. She reached out and plucked it off, bringing it closer to her face to inspect.
The Avatar’s Bison.
So he was trying to lure them away, was he?
She let the soft white pieces of that ridiculous animal glide through her fingers, then dusted them off to get rid of the remaining, stubborn tufts.
“I will follow the Avatar’s trail, you will continue with the rest.” She left no room for discussion.
As she went to leave, Ty Lee called out to her one last time—sounding somewhat tentative.
“…you know we’re worried right ?”
She disappeared into the woods without answering.
A moment passed, then another, until the silence between them became almost suffocating.
Mai knew it.
Mai had known that something was going on with Azula. From the moment she was recruited by her back in Omashu, the once unflinchingly loyal fire nation soldier was different in a way that was still unexplainable at the time.
And yet, still Mai had no idea what exactly was going on.
Mai knew Azula.
In three years, it was practically impossible for that vindictive, manipulative little girl to become this person…
This person that put herself in harm's way instead of Mai and Ty Lee.
What happened in those three years?
“…Mai?”Ty Lee spoke up finally. “Should we follow her?”
“No.” She didn’t offer any further explanation.
“But what if she gets hurt again?” Ty Lee tried, her voice shifting an octave higher.
“We have to let her decide, Ty Lee.”
Ty Lee looked at the treeline with trepidation, her feet shifting anxiously on the ground as she contemplated following.
Mai let her.
She knew better than anyone what it felt like when everyone around made her choices for her.
She let out an exaggerated sigh, trying to get Ty Lee to stop catastrophising. Today had been long enough and they still had a job to do.
Technically.
While Mai didn’t know the whole situation, she did know one thing.
Azula was deliberately not harming the Avatar.
And even that, in itself, seemed impossible.
“Mai…?”
“What?” She looked towards Ty Lee.
“If her own dad was willing to do that to her…”
She paused.
“what are we really fighting for?”