The Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior

Chapter 98 [~|~] The Reckoning

A.N. I'm back lovely readers! Huge shout out to all of you guys who contributed to this story getting 200k+ reads and nearly 10k votes! Thank you so much! Would not have nearly made it this far in the story without your dedicated readership! From the peeps who've been here since the very beginning to the peeps who literally binged 98 chapters like it was nobody's business—thank you!

There might be a lot of sporadic updates over the course of the next week. Basically, my life plans keep getting pushed back unnecessarily and I'm so frustrated with everything that I've just been pouring all my energy into finishing this book. Angry writing is oddly therapeutic. Oh well. There are worse coping mechanisms.

Hope you guys enjoy the latest installment!

"Azara!" she heard yelled, causing her to pull back enough from Sokka's lips to see her friends sprinting towards her.

"And there's the interruption right on cue," Sokka sighed jokingly before helping Azara to stand up, keeping a steadying arm around her waist.

"Thank the Spirits you're okay!" Katara shouted, pulling Azara into a tight hug that nearly had the two girls tumbling over. Sokka's grip on Azara's waist tightened as Azara laughed, hugging Katara back just as tightly.

"Katara, be careful!"

"I'm fine, Sokka. And I missed you too, Katara," Azara replied to the waterbender, who finally released her. Turning to face the others that had run over, Azara beamed at the sight of Aang standing and walking around on his own. "Good to see you up and moving, Aang."

The two shared a tight hug as Aang smiled widely. "You have Katara to thank for that. She used the Spirit Oasis water to heal me," Aang explained, gesturing to Katara. The waterbender blushed lightly at his praise, waving his comment off.

"I'm just glad you guys were able to get out," Azara stated, pulling back from the hug. Toph stepped forward next, her usual smirk on her face.

"Did you and Captain Boomerang get your reunion then?" Toph teased as Sokka blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. Azara laughed off Toph's teasing words and tugged her into an embrace.

"I missed you too, Toph." Toph hugged her back tightly for a moment, before remembering herself. Pulling back, the earthbender punched Azara lightly in the arm.

"Yeah, yeah, glad to have you back," Toph shrugged nonchalantly, acting like she didn't care. Though Azara knew the earthbender had really missed her, even if she wouldn't admit it willingly out loud. "And don't get used to those hugs or sappy reunions."

"I won't," Azara chuckled, before turning to the other assembled teenagers. She greeted Teo, Haru, and The Duke, before her eyes landed on a familiar waterbender. "Kesuk?" she gasped as he stepped forward. "What are you doing here?" The two shared a brief hug before letting go of each other, much to Sokka's silent relief.

"Well, myself and a few others from the Northern Water Tribe joined the invasion. We ran into Sokka and Katara's dad while sailing and offered our help," Kesuk feplied, a kind smile on his face.

"It's good to see you again," Azara nodded before her gaze traveled to the one person who had not run over to greet her. "Zuko?" she whispered out, looking surprised to see her older brother with her friends. And even more surprised at the fact that none of her friends seemed surprised at his appearance there.

"Hey, Azara," he responded awkwardly, pushing off the wall, and taking a few steps towards the rest of the group.

"What are you doing here?" Azara asked, slightly defensive.