The Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior

Chapter 74 [~|~] The Tale of Azara and Sokka

Azara walked through the crowded Upper Ring train station, a calm demeanor about her as she shuffled back towards her temporary residence. Humming to herself, Azara opened the door to the house, her eyebrows widening in surprise as she spotted only Sokka in the common room. "Where's everyone else?" Azara asked, walking over to Sokka, who jumped to his feet.

"They all went out for dinner," Sokka explained, causing Azara to nod. Glancing around the room, Azara turned back to Sokka after a moment.

"You didn't want to go with them?" she questioned, her golden irises meeting his clear blue ones as Sokka stiffened at her question. Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Sokka cleared his throat before speaking.

"Actually, I wanted to wait for you to get back to see if you were, uh, ready to talk," Sokka replied, causing Azara's eyes to widen in realization, her thoughts drifting back to the debacle at the Serpent's Pass and her promise to Sokka.

"Oh, yeah," she nodded, playing with her fingers nervously. Sensing her unease at the topic, Sokka decided to speak again.

"But only if you're ready. I know you said you had a lot on your mind and everything," he added as Azara shook her head, turning to smile up at him.

"No, it's alright. I'm ready," Azara spoke, straightening up. "But, uh, why don't we do it over a meal? I'm famished."

"Yeah, of course," Sokka smiled, causing Azara to nod and lead the way out of the house. "Katara mentioned this noodle place towards the center of the village," Sokka noted as he held the door open for her, his longer strides easily catching up with her shorter ones.

"Noodles sound good," Azara agreed as they walked side by side through the streets of the Upper Ring. "So, what did you do today?" she inquired after a few moments of silence, glancing over at him before returning her gaze to the pavers below her feet.

"Not much," Sokka shrugged, subconsciously patting the small bag in his pocket with his hand, before turning back to Azara. "Just some sightseeing. What about you?"

"I went down to the Lower Ring," Azara answered as they walked over a small bridge. She raised an eyebrow as the center of the bridge had a massive hole in it, before shaking her head and refocusing. "I, uh, I was trying to get some closure."

"Closure?" Sokka asked, looking confused for a moment before Azara elaborated.

"My cousin, my uncle's son, he died here a few years ago," Azara explained, causing Sokka to nod solemnly, her outburst on the Outer Wall making more sense to him now. "I haven't thought about him in a while, but coming here to the city . . . I guess the memories just popped up on their own." From her tone, Sokka guessed that the memories were at least happy ones, which he knew was rare when it came to her family.

"Did you find the closure you needed?" Sokka questioned, causing Azara to pause for a moment before smiling and nodding.

"I think I did," she spoke, deciding not to tell Sokka about the hidden alcove of Fire Nation refugees she had stumbled across. Not when the Dai Li were likely following their every move.

"I'm glad." The two shared a small smile before Sokka led the way over to the noodle restaurant. Walking up to the hostess, Sokka held up two fingers. "Table for two, please."

"Right this way," the hostess nodded, before leading the two of them to an empty table in the corner. Sokka and Azara quietly thanked the woman before taking their seats. Sokka looked at Azara expectantly to start the conversation, but Azara hid her face with the menu, trying to calm her nerves. As Sokka turned back to his own menu, Azara lowered hers.