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fractal_mirrors2011-09-24 04:24 pm
laurus-nobilis.livejournal.com) wrote in fractal_mirrors2011-09-24 04:24 pm
Entry tags:
Always One More Chance (1/3) [Avatar: the Last Airbender; English]
Title: Always One More Chance
Rating: PG
Genre: Genfic / friendship / drama
Characters: Ty Lee, Azula, Mai, a little bit of Zuko
Pairings: Mentions of Mai/Zuko in the background.
Warnings: Parts of the story deal with Azula's (canon) breakdown.
Words: 6842
Summary: Ty Lee has changed for the better, and so have Mai and Zuko. She thinks it's only fair to give Azula the same chance.
Notes: First of all, thanks a lot to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sea_of_tethys for beta reading! :)
Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
femgenficathon with the prompt Her wrath makes people tremble/ Her wrath is...a devastating flood / Which no one can withstand. Enheduenna (circa 2300-2225 B.C.E.), Sumerian priestess of Inanna, first recorded author and poet in world history.. The prompt inspired one scene of this, actually, and the rest sort of grew around it. It ended up so long that it didn't fit in a single entry, but that is the only reason why I had to split it. It's meant to be a one-shot.
It took some time until Ty Lee found out just what had happened to Azula.
There always seemed to be a good reason not to ask. Now that she and Mai lived in different Nations, they didn't get the chance to see each other as often as they used to. They had newer and happier things to talk about whenever they did meet. She saw Zuko even less, and it didn't feel right to upset him by asking about this, in those few moments when he could relax and be himself instead of the Fire Lord.
If the rest of her friends knew anything, Ty Lee had no idea. They rarely brought up the subject, and when they tried to, there was always something more important, something she had just remembered she needed to do, right now.
It took some time until Ty Lee admitted to herself that she kept making excuses.
* * *
"You know... I've been thinking."
Mai put down her cup of tea and looked at her with an expression that, after years and years of knowing each other, Ty Lee could interpret as interest about what she was going to say. Which didn't make it any easier. She hesitated a bit longer before she went on.
"... about Azula."
"I was wondering when you were going to ask," sighed Mai.
"It's not the happiest of subjects," she replied, a little defensive, perhaps, but she couldn't help it. Mai didn't seem bothered by it in the least.
"I know. That's why I didn't bring it up."
Ty Lee nodded, and even managed a small grin. She spent a moment trying to find the perfect words before she spoke again. Then she decided that there was no right way of asking this, so it was better to just do it.
"Do you know what happened to her? After... well, everything."
"I know," said Mai. Her expression became so closed that even Ty Lee had trouble reading it. "She's not in prison. Not like Ozai is, anyway. She's in Ember Island with Lo and Li."
"Just... just like that? No guards? No anything?"
Mai shrugged.
"Maybe there are guards. I don't know." She looked away. "I... didn't ask about the details, either."
"... oh."
There were a few minutes of awkward silence while both of them pretended to be quite focused on their cups of tea. Ty Lee wasn't sure of what to think about this. Sure, it did seem like something Zuko would do. He had turned out to be a bit of a softy, in the end, hadn't he? And part of her was glad, in a way, that Azula didn't have to deal with the hardships of a prison. Not after all she had already been through. Of course, another part of her hadn't forgotten that she and Mai had spent time in a very real prison, or who had sent them there. And yet another part was worried about what might happen if Azula escaped. She had heard the story about her breakdown, yes, but... that had been a couple of years ago. She might be much, much better now. What if she decided she had to leave?
It was all very confusing. There had to be a way to sort out her feelings... get some closure...
"Don't do anything stupid," Mai told her all of a sudden. She blinked.
"Sorry?"
"I know what you're thinking. Don't."
"But –"
"It's just not a good idea, Ty Lee."
"You don't even know what the idea is!" she complained.
"If it involves Azula," said Mai, "it's a bad one."
"I just... I need to know," Ty Lee explained. "She's been our friend for so long, and –"
"Friend?" Mai interrupted, and for the first time she let her anger show. "She was never our friend. She was using us from the very beginning."
"That's not true," she whispered. "It wasn't always like that. Not really."
For what felt like a very long time, Mai didn't answer. Then she sighed.
"Lo and Li write to Zuko every week or so," she said. Ty Lee grinned brightly at her.
"Thanks."
"Oh, shut up," said Mai, and once again acted as if she had some very interesting tea.
* * *
Zuko rubbed his temples and sighed.
"You're going no matter what I say, aren't you?"
"Look, I promise that if you tell me it's dangerous, I won't go," Ty Lee said, very serious. "But perhaps... if she's doing better..."
He groaned, resigned, and Ty Lee knew that she had won. But she still waited for him to speak again, just in case he changed his mind.
"It's not... it's not dangerous. She's not going to attack you or anything," Zuko told her, still frowning. "But I don't think she'll be happy to see you, either."
"Only one way to find out!"
She grinned, and then jumped forwards to hug him without any kind of warning. She was sure that he'd run away if he had the time. True enough, he tensed quite a bit at first, but then he relaxed. He even managed to pat her back awkwardly. It was kind of adorable.
"Thank you, Zuko," she said when she let go of him at last. "It means a lot to me."
"Why?" he asked. He was genuinely confused; it showed. "Why do you want to go?"
It took her a moment to answer. Part of it was that she wanted to find the right words; part of it had much more to do with the fact that it wasn't easy at all to admit this.
"Because... I changed. And so did Mai, and you. So I thought perhaps Azula can change, too," she admitted. "And I kinda think that's why you're letting her stay on the island."
Zuko didn't deny it. He didn't admit it, either, but Ty Lee thought it was a good start.
"Good luck," he said at last, with the tiniest of smiles.
For now, that was enough.
* * *
She was nervous during the whole trip. She couldn't help it. Oh, she was still certain that she wanted to do this, but... what if Mai was right? What if it didn't go well? Ty Lee had to admit it: she might just be setting herself up for another round of heartbreak. She did believe, with all of her heart, that living with her doubts would be even worse. It just didn't make this part of the plan any easier to bear.
After several talks with Zuko, they had decided that the best course of action was to avoid drawing attention. She traveled to Ember Island like any other tourist, in a boat full of happy strangers going on vacation. Once she arrived, she knew how to find their old summer house. It didn't take her long to reach the familiar building.
Lo and Li knew better than to try to surprise Azula. She was waiting for her, standing near the entrance, looking as regal and dignified in her casual clothes as she did in the combat outfit she used to wear. After all, it had always been about her attitude, not her looks. Still, the details helped. Perfect hair. Perfect make-up. Perfect everything. It made Ty Lee forget what she had planned to say.
"Um," she muttered, awkward. "Hi."
"What exactly do you think you're doing here, Ty Lee?"
"I came to see you," she replied. What little was left of her confidence threatened to disappear any moment now. Azula frowned at her, which didn't help in the least.
"And did it ever occur to you that you might not be welcome?"
"... yes," Ty Lee admitted. "But I had to try."
They stood in silence for a few moments. Azula's look didn't waver, and it was making her more and more uncomfortable. In the end, Ty Lee was the first to lower her gaze, biting her lip.
"I'll leave if you want me to –"
"Don't be ridiculous," Azula interrupted. "I didn't dress up for nothing."
"... right." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Then she realized that she wasn't giving the most confident image, here, and made an effort to straighten up. "Sooo... what would you like to do?"
Azula raised an eyebrow at her. Ty Lee tried very, very hard not to flinch.
"You haven't even made any plans?"
"Um, well –" She stopped herself half a second away from saying that she hadn't known what to expect. "I'm more the improvising type."
"So you have no idea. Great." Azula didn't bother to hold back a sigh – or maybe she did it on purpose to begin with. "Come in. We'll have some tea, at least."
"Sure," said Ty Lee, and followed her inside.
The house looked completely different from the last time she'd been there. Back then, it had been abandoned, almost empty. The royal family had had other things to focus on than spending their summers on Ember Island, and the years of solitude had showed. But all of that had changed now. It was... nice. Once again, it was a place where people lived, full of energy. The furniture and decoration were to Azula's tastes, which meant there was nothing of the gaudy pink from Lo and Li's own house that Ty Lee had enjoyed so much. Everything was, of course, perfectly in order. Spotless.
It didn't seem artificial, though. It was just fitting to her personality. Azula had given her own touch to the house, and Ty Lee couldn't help but consider that a good thing. Sure, her own style didn't really have a lot in common with this. She couldn't have spent a week here without filling it with clashing colors and random trinkets and rearranging all the furniture so the energies flowed better. But that wasn't the point at all. Azula was making it hers – in a creative way. That meant a lot.
Ty Lee didn't spend a long time taking in her surroundings, however. Tea was already prepared, perhaps just in case, perhaps because Azula had planned this since the beginning. It was hard to tell, with her. But she probably had a better idea of what to expect from Ty Lee than the other way around. It made her a little uncomfortable, truth be told, to see her friend was still set in her controlling ways. It wasn't anything big, but...
... no, there was no point in worrying. This was about being ready to take care of visitors. It was what any good host would do, and it had nothing at all to do with wanting to control other people's lives. Or, at least, so she tried to convince herself.
"So? What are you going to tell me?" Azula asked, once they had both sat down. "Surely you can't expect me to have anything to say about this place, so you better bring some interesting news."
"Um. Sure," she replied. It took her a moment to realize what her friend had done. Before the conversation even started, she had managed to deflect it away from herself and whatever she had been doing for the past couple of years. Ty Lee was outmaneuvered without having acted at all.
"Well?"
"I've been living in Kyoshi Island," said Ty Lee. She felt it was better to keep it personal instead of talking about the greater, political news. Azula might be far more interested in the latter, but... it didn't seem like a good idea to bring that up so soon. "It's... kinda cold, really, but nice. Even if it's a bit weird not to travel around all the time anymore."
She paused for a moment, eyes widening at the sudden revelation, and grinned.
"Guess that's something we have in common!"
Azula glared daggers at her. Well... bad move, then. So much for being spontaneous. She'd have to be far more careful, if she wanted to keep her friend in a good mood. It was going to be difficult. Ty Lee had always been one to go with the flow, and just say whatever crossed her mind at any given time. It wasn't always the smartest tactic; she knew that already. But that didn't mean she had learned to control it yet.
"Is that what you've been doing all this time, then?" For a moment, Azula's disdain almost made her sound like Mai. "Living a boring peasant life on a boring little island?"
"It's not that bad," Ty Lee replied, frowning. It was funny, how she felt the need to defend her new home. She'd grown fond of it without even noticing it. "Actually, it's not bad at all. I've got friends there. And we keep busy. There's a lot of training to do. I help put on shows in my free time, too."
Azula let out a derisive snort.
"Always the circus freak, I see."
"I happen to like those shows," Ty Lee said, and realized only too late that she was pouting a bit. "And so do the kids. They need some distractions, too. It's a tiny island. There isn't a lot to do there."
"Then why don't you leave?" Azula asked. "What happened to traveling the world and all of that?"
"I still travel," she replied, with a small shrug. "Just not that often, but I still do. Besides, I like it on Kyoshi. And I like being with the Warriors, too. We became pretty close."
Azula's face became unreadable – even more than usual. It was still intimidating, even after all this time. But Ty Lee couldn't help but see it as something good. She had made her friend think about it, at least. That would get a reaction. Not a visible one, perhaps, and probably not a pleasant one. But it might just become meaningful, in the long run.
The conversation remained focused on simple, mundane topics after that. That much made sense. She hadn't expected Azula (or herself, to be honest) to start pouring her heart out on their first meeting. After all that had happened between them, it was a wonder that they could even be civil to each other. It wasn't a bad start at all.
The fact that she could consider it a start was good enough. Yes, Ty Lee decided, she would come back. This plan was definitely going to work.
Part 2
Rating: PG
Genre: Genfic / friendship / drama
Characters: Ty Lee, Azula, Mai, a little bit of Zuko
Pairings: Mentions of Mai/Zuko in the background.
Warnings: Parts of the story deal with Azula's (canon) breakdown.
Words: 6842
Summary: Ty Lee has changed for the better, and so have Mai and Zuko. She thinks it's only fair to give Azula the same chance.
Notes: First of all, thanks a lot to
sea_of_tethys for beta reading! :)Written for
femgenficathon with the prompt Her wrath makes people tremble/ Her wrath is...a devastating flood / Which no one can withstand. Enheduenna (circa 2300-2225 B.C.E.), Sumerian priestess of Inanna, first recorded author and poet in world history.. The prompt inspired one scene of this, actually, and the rest sort of grew around it. It ended up so long that it didn't fit in a single entry, but that is the only reason why I had to split it. It's meant to be a one-shot.It took some time until Ty Lee found out just what had happened to Azula.
There always seemed to be a good reason not to ask. Now that she and Mai lived in different Nations, they didn't get the chance to see each other as often as they used to. They had newer and happier things to talk about whenever they did meet. She saw Zuko even less, and it didn't feel right to upset him by asking about this, in those few moments when he could relax and be himself instead of the Fire Lord.
If the rest of her friends knew anything, Ty Lee had no idea. They rarely brought up the subject, and when they tried to, there was always something more important, something she had just remembered she needed to do, right now.
It took some time until Ty Lee admitted to herself that she kept making excuses.
"You know... I've been thinking."
Mai put down her cup of tea and looked at her with an expression that, after years and years of knowing each other, Ty Lee could interpret as interest about what she was going to say. Which didn't make it any easier. She hesitated a bit longer before she went on.
"... about Azula."
"I was wondering when you were going to ask," sighed Mai.
"It's not the happiest of subjects," she replied, a little defensive, perhaps, but she couldn't help it. Mai didn't seem bothered by it in the least.
"I know. That's why I didn't bring it up."
Ty Lee nodded, and even managed a small grin. She spent a moment trying to find the perfect words before she spoke again. Then she decided that there was no right way of asking this, so it was better to just do it.
"Do you know what happened to her? After... well, everything."
"I know," said Mai. Her expression became so closed that even Ty Lee had trouble reading it. "She's not in prison. Not like Ozai is, anyway. She's in Ember Island with Lo and Li."
"Just... just like that? No guards? No anything?"
Mai shrugged.
"Maybe there are guards. I don't know." She looked away. "I... didn't ask about the details, either."
"... oh."
There were a few minutes of awkward silence while both of them pretended to be quite focused on their cups of tea. Ty Lee wasn't sure of what to think about this. Sure, it did seem like something Zuko would do. He had turned out to be a bit of a softy, in the end, hadn't he? And part of her was glad, in a way, that Azula didn't have to deal with the hardships of a prison. Not after all she had already been through. Of course, another part of her hadn't forgotten that she and Mai had spent time in a very real prison, or who had sent them there. And yet another part was worried about what might happen if Azula escaped. She had heard the story about her breakdown, yes, but... that had been a couple of years ago. She might be much, much better now. What if she decided she had to leave?
It was all very confusing. There had to be a way to sort out her feelings... get some closure...
"Don't do anything stupid," Mai told her all of a sudden. She blinked.
"Sorry?"
"I know what you're thinking. Don't."
"But –"
"It's just not a good idea, Ty Lee."
"You don't even know what the idea is!" she complained.
"If it involves Azula," said Mai, "it's a bad one."
"I just... I need to know," Ty Lee explained. "She's been our friend for so long, and –"
"Friend?" Mai interrupted, and for the first time she let her anger show. "She was never our friend. She was using us from the very beginning."
"That's not true," she whispered. "It wasn't always like that. Not really."
For what felt like a very long time, Mai didn't answer. Then she sighed.
"Lo and Li write to Zuko every week or so," she said. Ty Lee grinned brightly at her.
"Thanks."
"Oh, shut up," said Mai, and once again acted as if she had some very interesting tea.
Zuko rubbed his temples and sighed.
"You're going no matter what I say, aren't you?"
"Look, I promise that if you tell me it's dangerous, I won't go," Ty Lee said, very serious. "But perhaps... if she's doing better..."
He groaned, resigned, and Ty Lee knew that she had won. But she still waited for him to speak again, just in case he changed his mind.
"It's not... it's not dangerous. She's not going to attack you or anything," Zuko told her, still frowning. "But I don't think she'll be happy to see you, either."
"Only one way to find out!"
She grinned, and then jumped forwards to hug him without any kind of warning. She was sure that he'd run away if he had the time. True enough, he tensed quite a bit at first, but then he relaxed. He even managed to pat her back awkwardly. It was kind of adorable.
"Thank you, Zuko," she said when she let go of him at last. "It means a lot to me."
"Why?" he asked. He was genuinely confused; it showed. "Why do you want to go?"
It took her a moment to answer. Part of it was that she wanted to find the right words; part of it had much more to do with the fact that it wasn't easy at all to admit this.
"Because... I changed. And so did Mai, and you. So I thought perhaps Azula can change, too," she admitted. "And I kinda think that's why you're letting her stay on the island."
Zuko didn't deny it. He didn't admit it, either, but Ty Lee thought it was a good start.
"Good luck," he said at last, with the tiniest of smiles.
For now, that was enough.
She was nervous during the whole trip. She couldn't help it. Oh, she was still certain that she wanted to do this, but... what if Mai was right? What if it didn't go well? Ty Lee had to admit it: she might just be setting herself up for another round of heartbreak. She did believe, with all of her heart, that living with her doubts would be even worse. It just didn't make this part of the plan any easier to bear.
After several talks with Zuko, they had decided that the best course of action was to avoid drawing attention. She traveled to Ember Island like any other tourist, in a boat full of happy strangers going on vacation. Once she arrived, she knew how to find their old summer house. It didn't take her long to reach the familiar building.
Lo and Li knew better than to try to surprise Azula. She was waiting for her, standing near the entrance, looking as regal and dignified in her casual clothes as she did in the combat outfit she used to wear. After all, it had always been about her attitude, not her looks. Still, the details helped. Perfect hair. Perfect make-up. Perfect everything. It made Ty Lee forget what she had planned to say.
"Um," she muttered, awkward. "Hi."
"What exactly do you think you're doing here, Ty Lee?"
"I came to see you," she replied. What little was left of her confidence threatened to disappear any moment now. Azula frowned at her, which didn't help in the least.
"And did it ever occur to you that you might not be welcome?"
"... yes," Ty Lee admitted. "But I had to try."
They stood in silence for a few moments. Azula's look didn't waver, and it was making her more and more uncomfortable. In the end, Ty Lee was the first to lower her gaze, biting her lip.
"I'll leave if you want me to –"
"Don't be ridiculous," Azula interrupted. "I didn't dress up for nothing."
"... right." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Then she realized that she wasn't giving the most confident image, here, and made an effort to straighten up. "Sooo... what would you like to do?"
Azula raised an eyebrow at her. Ty Lee tried very, very hard not to flinch.
"You haven't even made any plans?"
"Um, well –" She stopped herself half a second away from saying that she hadn't known what to expect. "I'm more the improvising type."
"So you have no idea. Great." Azula didn't bother to hold back a sigh – or maybe she did it on purpose to begin with. "Come in. We'll have some tea, at least."
"Sure," said Ty Lee, and followed her inside.
The house looked completely different from the last time she'd been there. Back then, it had been abandoned, almost empty. The royal family had had other things to focus on than spending their summers on Ember Island, and the years of solitude had showed. But all of that had changed now. It was... nice. Once again, it was a place where people lived, full of energy. The furniture and decoration were to Azula's tastes, which meant there was nothing of the gaudy pink from Lo and Li's own house that Ty Lee had enjoyed so much. Everything was, of course, perfectly in order. Spotless.
It didn't seem artificial, though. It was just fitting to her personality. Azula had given her own touch to the house, and Ty Lee couldn't help but consider that a good thing. Sure, her own style didn't really have a lot in common with this. She couldn't have spent a week here without filling it with clashing colors and random trinkets and rearranging all the furniture so the energies flowed better. But that wasn't the point at all. Azula was making it hers – in a creative way. That meant a lot.
Ty Lee didn't spend a long time taking in her surroundings, however. Tea was already prepared, perhaps just in case, perhaps because Azula had planned this since the beginning. It was hard to tell, with her. But she probably had a better idea of what to expect from Ty Lee than the other way around. It made her a little uncomfortable, truth be told, to see her friend was still set in her controlling ways. It wasn't anything big, but...
... no, there was no point in worrying. This was about being ready to take care of visitors. It was what any good host would do, and it had nothing at all to do with wanting to control other people's lives. Or, at least, so she tried to convince herself.
"So? What are you going to tell me?" Azula asked, once they had both sat down. "Surely you can't expect me to have anything to say about this place, so you better bring some interesting news."
"Um. Sure," she replied. It took her a moment to realize what her friend had done. Before the conversation even started, she had managed to deflect it away from herself and whatever she had been doing for the past couple of years. Ty Lee was outmaneuvered without having acted at all.
"Well?"
"I've been living in Kyoshi Island," said Ty Lee. She felt it was better to keep it personal instead of talking about the greater, political news. Azula might be far more interested in the latter, but... it didn't seem like a good idea to bring that up so soon. "It's... kinda cold, really, but nice. Even if it's a bit weird not to travel around all the time anymore."
She paused for a moment, eyes widening at the sudden revelation, and grinned.
"Guess that's something we have in common!"
Azula glared daggers at her. Well... bad move, then. So much for being spontaneous. She'd have to be far more careful, if she wanted to keep her friend in a good mood. It was going to be difficult. Ty Lee had always been one to go with the flow, and just say whatever crossed her mind at any given time. It wasn't always the smartest tactic; she knew that already. But that didn't mean she had learned to control it yet.
"Is that what you've been doing all this time, then?" For a moment, Azula's disdain almost made her sound like Mai. "Living a boring peasant life on a boring little island?"
"It's not that bad," Ty Lee replied, frowning. It was funny, how she felt the need to defend her new home. She'd grown fond of it without even noticing it. "Actually, it's not bad at all. I've got friends there. And we keep busy. There's a lot of training to do. I help put on shows in my free time, too."
Azula let out a derisive snort.
"Always the circus freak, I see."
"I happen to like those shows," Ty Lee said, and realized only too late that she was pouting a bit. "And so do the kids. They need some distractions, too. It's a tiny island. There isn't a lot to do there."
"Then why don't you leave?" Azula asked. "What happened to traveling the world and all of that?"
"I still travel," she replied, with a small shrug. "Just not that often, but I still do. Besides, I like it on Kyoshi. And I like being with the Warriors, too. We became pretty close."
Azula's face became unreadable – even more than usual. It was still intimidating, even after all this time. But Ty Lee couldn't help but see it as something good. She had made her friend think about it, at least. That would get a reaction. Not a visible one, perhaps, and probably not a pleasant one. But it might just become meaningful, in the long run.
The conversation remained focused on simple, mundane topics after that. That much made sense. She hadn't expected Azula (or herself, to be honest) to start pouring her heart out on their first meeting. After all that had happened between them, it was a wonder that they could even be civil to each other. It wasn't a bad start at all.
The fact that she could consider it a start was good enough. Yes, Ty Lee decided, she would come back. This plan was definitely going to work.
Part 2