Wandering Firebender

Twenty Five: The Dance of Two Flames

"Tell me again why we're stopping in an Earth Kingdom town? I thought we were going to stay in the machine until we caught up with the Avatar." Mai complained.

On their way to the Avatar's last sighted location, Princess Azula and her crew: Mai and Ty Lee, stopped in a big, bustling Earth Kingdom town at Azula's order. Now the three of them were walking through town surrounded by bodyguards and with more men trailing behind them awaiting orders.

"This thriving Earth Kingdom settlement has all the supplies we need. Once we've caught up with the Avatar, we'll need to pursue him relentlessly; we can't let them pause to rest. Which means that once they've spotted our machine, we cannot afford to stop.

"Thankfully, this little town is graciously donating all the food and materials that we will need for our mission." Azula said with a smirk, watching as Fire Nation soldiers approached different stands in the market, taking the food and collecting them in sacks.

"Yeah, don't be such a downer, Mai. Besides, you were the one complaining about being inside the machine before. At least now you get to get out in the sun, stretch your legs." Ty Lee listed, doing a forward cartwheel and stretching her arms out with a smile.

"Ugh, when I said I wanted to get out, walking through this dingy, dusty town is not what I had in mind." Mai grumbled.

"It is kinda dusty," Ty Lee agreed, noticing the dust on her hands from her forward cartwheel. She clapped her hands together to clean them off. "But it's not that bad! It's actually kinda nice here!"

"Not all of us got used to the Earth Kingdom like you did," Mai pointed out. "Even in Omashu, everything was made of stone and sand and..."

"Earth?" Ty Lee finished her sentence.

"The sooner we capture the Avatar, the sooner we all get to return home." Azula said.

"Ooh, then we can throw a big party to celebrate! With fireworks!" Ty Lee giggled.

"Just as long as there's food." Mai sighed.

"Now you're getting into the spirit of things." Azula said humorously.

"Step aside!" One of the soldiers keeping a perimeter around the princess and her friends shouted suddenly. The three of them all glanced over to see the soldier pushing someone who was coming around the corner. He fell back on the ground with a grunt.

"The sooner we get out of this town, the better." Mai said, turning her attention away. Azula looked away as well. However, Ty Lee peeked between the line of bodyguards to see who had been pushed to the ground.

It was an understatement to say that she was utterly shocked by who she saw.

"Elio?!" She gasped. She quickly darted between the guards and rushed over to Elio.

"Ty Lee?" Elio looked up at her, recognizing her immediately. His eyes widened in amazement as she held out her hand. He took it and stood up.

"It's really you!" She exclaimed, putting her other hand on his arm, "What're you doing here?!"

"Elio?" Azula's head rose up in recognition of the name. She turned her head to look over and see him.

Azula's mind quickly began to race as she saw him. It had been months since their last meeting when he'd rejected her offer to be on her team. Now there he was right in front of her again. And Ty Lee seemed to know him too somehow; she'd picked him out immediately.

Elio's eyes drifted away from Ty Lee to the soldiers who had been escorting her. That's when he saw Princess Azula staring right at him with widened, bewildered eyes. His own eyes widened in shock and fear. The two were frozen in place for a few lengthy seconds.