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Mai remembers her first soul-flower well enough, the memory strong enough in the bore of her youth that it sticks out like a sore thumb. Long, grasping petals that were splattered across the surface of her forearm. They were the prettiest of pinks, bloomed in small clusters with sprawled out petals that tickled against her skin.
She had displayed them with pride, baring her arm to her mother, who had simply glanced over and offered a small upturn of her red lips. Hyacinths, dear. Is what she said, They mean playful joy. Your soulmate must be a very happy person.
But that's where it ends. Her mother rolls down her sleeves, and tells her not to worry about such things. As it turns out, there was a reason that Mai rarely saw the soul-flower of another person, even with her own parents, the sight of fresh petals were a sight rare to none, quick to disappear as fast as they appeared.
There's nothing particularly wrong with showing your soul-flowers in the fire nation, but it isn't the most common sight, and within Caldera, it isn't a sight at all. The idea of marrying someone of a lower status is blasphemous. There is no space for love, nor fate, in this city, and Mai knows the only people who her parents would approve of have wounds that dont match her own. Her parents had looked upon her friendship with Princess Azula with glee in hopes it would perhaps pave the way to a marriage with the young prince, but Zuko isn't her soulmate. A scrape to the knee broke the news to her clear as day.
Mai decides then, that she doesn't need a soulmate anyway. Her life is dictated by her parents, and the flowers that bloom across her skin are no exception from their tight fist.
Mai knows she isn't the only one out of her friends with soul-flowers, but Zuko's were the only ones she had ever seen. There's a ring of delicate, blue petals that adorn his ankle, scattering upwards beneath the red fabric of his clothed leg. Ty-Lee is rather fond of them, cooing at the beautiful flowers and lamenting that her own ever seem to show up once in a blue moon.
"Do you have any idea who they might be?" Mai asks one day, eyes glued to the teal that has blossomed across his index finger. They're a different colour to the ones that had been on his ankle, more green, and she wonders if they belong to someone else.
"Huh- do you mean my soulmate?" Mai nods, and Zuko fidgets slightly, fingers running across the petals. "No, I don't think I ever will. But mom says that I might one day, and they're probably super nice."
It's false hope, and they both know it. The chances of your soulmate living in Caldera feels like little to none, with such a big world out there, and the chances of said soulmate being up to standard feels even lower. Especially for Zuko, there's very few people who would be eligible to marry the crown prince.
But she is. They don't talk about it, but when their parents chatter amongst themselves they both know what kind of plans they have for the two of them. It's no different to anything else in her life and she can't exactly complain.
Zuko's banishment throws a rock in this. Her parents will think of something else anyway.
Ba Sing Se is awful. It reminds her eerily of Caldera, full of stuck up nobles and soldiers who think they're too good for everyone, that they know better just because they're older. If it wasn't for the job Azula had given them, Mai would rather sleep in some Earth Kingdom cave than have to spend one more moment in this stupid uniform surrounded by even stupider people.
"Azula said you needed some help getting ready."
Mai gives a little start. She had zoned out, legs stretched across the bed inside the room she had been given. Boring city aside, Mai could appreciate the lavish comfort of the rooms, it was the first time in a while they'd all had separate rooms, especially ones as spacious as these, and it wasn't like they got time to themselves very often.
"She did?" Mai questions, brushing her hands across the thick fabric of the uniform. Truthfully she hadn't even attempted to start on painting her face, but it wasn't that hard. She hardly needed the help. "That's weird. I told her I was going to do it eventually."
Ty Lee giggles nervously, and Mai raises an eyebrow. "Well.. you were taking forever! She wants to start moving this plan along, and we can't exactly go out there without looking like Kyoshi Warriors."
Mai knows she's lying. It was a flimsy excuse and they know it, Ty Lee was never an amazing liar, but Mai can't be bothered to ponder on why. But it was a reason for her to stay nevertheless, so Mai got up from her spot on the bed and sat on one of the golden chairs opposite the vanity table. Like everything else in the room, it was beautiful, and small flowers made of gold decorated the sides of the mirror. Like everything else in the Earth Kingdom, soul-flowers seemed to be another thing they took seriously. She watches Ty Lee skip over, taking a seat in one of the chairs she drags over.
"You know, everything here is so beautiful. I kind of want to take inspiration for my own bedroom back home." Mai had seen Ty-Lee's bedroom before, and it wasn't exactly underwhelming.
Back in Caldera, there were pink fabrics that drape over the windows of Ty Lee's bedroom windows and across her bed, finely carved golds and porcelain scattered across the room, blending in with all the clutter she had hoarded over the years. When asked why she wouldn't get rid of it, Ty Lee just said she couldn't possibly understand how important every object she had was to her, and Mai had no doubt that she just had a hoarding problem. She also had no doubt that adding anything remotely Earth Kingdom styled would make it almost impossible to move about in.
Ty Lee’s bed here however was identical to the one in Mai’s room, tucked into one of corner of the room, with a spacious but hard mattress, and devoid of any personality. It was neatly made, all the edges tucked in, the pillows fluffed, and the bed springs devoid of any squeaks. Before Ba Sing Se, it had been a while since their little group had slept in real beds like these, and Mai had anticipated relief at finally having her own room, a real bed. But the wide, empty room and its cold, square bed reminded her too much of her old quarters in Omashu, and her brain had spun in circles around Azula’s plans to conquer the earth kingdom and she’d wound up staring up at the ceiling as the night crept by. She woke up on a few stolen hours of sleep, her eyelids heavy and her throat dry. At least the Kyoshi warrior makeup, tacky as it was, covered the dark circles under her eyes.
She's snapped out of her thoughts when Ty-Lee reaches over and takes a brush into her hand, dipping it into white paint.
"Do you have any soul-flowers?" Ty Lee says, ever so casually, as she brings the brush to Mai's face.
The question is not something she expected. Of course, she knew Ty Lee wasn't particularly quiet about the topic of soul-flowers, it was one she had brought up several times before in the past. What she didn't know is why Ty-Lee was mentioning it now.
"You know I do. I've mentioned them before." Not that she'd ever shown Ty Lee them, the rare pinks that occasionally bloom across her skin are always somewhere hidden beneath the several layers of dark clothing she wears.
"Yeah but, I've never actually seen them. I was curious if you'd gotten any recently! After all, you did promise to show me if you got any when I was around." She did promise, although Mai kind of hoped that Ty Lee had forgotten about it. Not that she was really bothered by showing them.. but that there was not much point. Ty Lee would ask if she'd ever met them, or had any clue, Mai would say no, and the conversation would end there. She brings her hand up to the heavy fabric of her uniform, and rolls it up to show the wide petaled flowers adorning her wrist.
Mai cocks a brow at Ty Lee's silence. This was Ty Lee's thing, all auras and fate, never one to be quiet about all things involving love and romance. But this time she is eerily silent, honey ridden eyes glued to the bright petals.
"What's up with you? I thought you'd be going insane at the sight of these." Mai snorts, in an attempt to lighten the mood. She's not much of a jokester, but she knows how to make Ty Lee smile.
Ty Lee doesn't reply though. Instead, she rolls up her sleeve, and the sight makes Mai's breath catch in her throat. There's a small scab, healing over and curled slightly at the middle of her inner forearm, directly in the same place where Mai's flowers sit neatly.
She's surprised, but at the same time, part of her isn't. Ty Lee is undoubtedly as joyful as the hyacinths that have decorated her skin throughout her life, as bright and attention stealing as the soft, beautiful petals.
Everything about Ty Lee is just as bright as they are. Her hair, her eyes, her clothes, and even her smile. Sometimes it feels like Mai covers herself in black just for the contract, just for Ty Lee- a yin and yang, the two of them. Ty Lee was her little spot of purity, the lotus blossom sticking out from all of her mud.
Despite all of her depressing behaviours and unwillingness to bend to Ty Lee's overwhelming positivity, Ty Lee stuck by her. She never faultered, nor questioned their friendship despite anything Mai said and did.
Ty Lee reaches over for another brush, and this time, brings it up to Mai's lips. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Everytime we talked about soulmates, your aura would get all muddy, and I wasn't sure if you wanted to know."
Mai lets out a deep breath in response. She isn't quite sure what to say. "You knew?"
"Yeah, I figured it out when we were playing with Azula once. You tripped and grazed your knee, and I felt the flowers come through not too long after."
Ty Lee skims the brush over her lips and back again, the bristles soft as she coats them in gleaming red. Mai watches passively, unsure what to say, playing hide and seek with thoughts she couldn't decipher. The space between them suddenly felt full and intimate in the absence of others.
"What do they look like?" She asks, and she can't say she isn't curious. All her life Ty Lee had lamented that her soul flowers were rare, only ever appearing in small clusters and disappearing just as quickly. But Mai had injured herself not too long ago, taking a cut to the calf that was still in the process of healing. There was no doubt it had taken the form of whatever flower bloomed on Ty Lee's skin.
Ty Lee pauses, before reaching down and pulling up the heavy skirts. She seems to have forgone the tights that came with the uniform, but Mai can't say she's disappointed. Where Mai had a wound running up the surface, thin red petals clustered close together, small strands bursting from the middle.
"Just as pretty as you, aren't they!" Ty Lee laughs, and Mai can't help the redness that flies to her cheeks. She's not a romantic, but there's no denying the warmth that fills her chest as she reaches down, running a finger across the flowers. They're rough against the surface of smooth skin, a bloody contrast to the pale backdrop.
Mai gets up, and Ty Lee lets the skirt drop back down. Ty Lee picks up the brush again, and returns to painting Mai, adorning her with the very colour that erupts from her skin with every scrape and bruise.
They sit in silence for the rest of it, the only sound that fills the room is soft breathing and the gentle drag of paint brushes. There's an unspoken conversation that hangs in the air, but they both know now is not the time. Azula's plan takes priority, but it doesn't stop the warmth that fills Mai's cheeks nor the occasional brush of fingers against the strands of her hair. Actions speak louder than words, they might not have time to talk about it now, but the upturn of Ty Lee's lips and each gentle caress of her lips by deep crimson tells her everything she needs to know.