It took Percy all of 30 seconds to realize sitting still was impossible as Azula quite literally read what was a description of just how weird he was. He watched with bated breath as she read the passage about what demigods were, glancing up at him every couple minutes before she flipped to the next section he'd marked about Poseidon. He had a small smile on his face as he could see Azula's eyes widen and could nearly see her brain working to put everything together. It was another few minutes before she closed the book and looked up at him. It was hard to read her expression and he did his best to steel himself for what might come his way.
"You're the son of a god," she said. Not in a tone of question but a statement.
He swallowed a lump in his throat before speaking, "You believe me?"
"I trust you, Percy," she said before shaking the book in her hand, "And even if I didn't, I know about your dyslexia. There's no possible way you wrote this book, plus you wouldn't have bothered to add all the other details about these other gods and goddesses that didn't help explain your story. You also probably would have written that you and Poseidon were the most powerful of them all."
"Well I mean I probably am—" he stopped as Azula gazed at him and realized now wasn't the best time for a joke. "So… do you have any questions?"
Azula scoffed, "Do I have any questions? Percy we could spend all night here and I wouldn't get all the answers I'm looking for," she paused before asking her first one, "But I need to know, how did you end up with the fire nation then?"
Percy took a deep breath before answering, "Well, I was raised in the southern water tribe. I didn't have any friends at all. My mom and I were treated like outcasts. Then one day, the wife of the village chief showed up with her daughter who was also a water bender and asks me to teach her. Two weeks later, the daughter said somethings and I flipped, I nearly destroyed the entire South Pole. Mom and I were kicked out. We were at sea for close to a month before we found one of the fire nation's islands. We were there for three years before the island was raided by warriors from the south Pole. My mom was killed by Hakoda, right in front of my eyes. It was a few days later that I woke up and found myself on Iroh's ship."
Azula nodded but he could see questions swimming in her eyes but she surprised him when she muttered, "How come you're a fire bender?" she asked softly.
Percy let out a deep breath, before going ahead to explain how he and Iroh had found the last dragons and 'slain' them.
"Wow", Azula breathed,"I knew there was something different about you, I just didn't know what. But this is crazy on a different level. So you are also a dragon, the dragon of the East?"
" Yes" Percy replied. He shifted uncomfortably, "I wanted to tell you, but there was so much I didn't understand about myself. At least not until I got that book," he said pointing at the book grasped in her hand, "I didn't want you to think I was crazy. You almost freaked out when I told you about ostrich-horses, remember?"
Azula nodded in remembrance and understanding, "I understand Percy I really do. If you didn't have this book, well... seeing and hearing are two different things," she said in an apologetic shrug.
"Forget about it, no harm done," he said with a shrug.
There was a pause before Azula decided on her next question, "And your dad?"
"He's a god. I only really know as much as you do from that book. I've only met him once and that was at the library. My mom used to say he was lost at sea and that's why he was never around."
"You said you only saw him once? Did he abandon you?"
Percy winced and Azula immediately regretted her choice of words but he answered anyway, "I don't really know. Like I said, I've only meant him once in my life and that's at the library."
