Not Too Far from the Yew Tree (an ATLA fanfiction)

Celadon

Markless prairie grew between the wall and the desolate coast, and it was through this corridor he and his sister approached the city. The bison flew as well with two passengers as with one. When the Dragon of the West had tried the city, he'd struck at the south, near where the ferry's port and rail station now operated, as they'd launched their campaign from Half Moon Bay. From the east there was nothing of interest and no vital infrastructure. The plain was flat, treeless, and relatively dry. He had the idea that most of the water had been diverted inside the agricultural ring of the city. In afternoon they landed by Azula's demand with the wall just barely come in sight. "Why are we stopping?"

"Well, Dumb-dumb, it would look awful strange to arrive by flying bison. We'll enter the city after dark. For now let's rest and let this cow graze." She slipped from the saddle and landed gracefully, and Zuko followed after. She took a seat nearby and stared at the walls, contemplating something. Feeling it might be the last moment of peace, he took a walk to clear his head and returned an hour later with no answers. Azula hadn't moved and was still in thought. He fell asleep at some point, though was unsure if she had, and around midnight he was shaken awake by his shoulder. "It's time, get up."

They woke the bison and boarded, and the last distance passed quickly. She took them high up in altitude, so high the air grew thin and cold. The walls had their strengths, but also their weakness—the perimeter they had created was enormous and riddled in blindspots. There was no force capable of adequately patrolling every mile of it, and only a large intrusion could have gained attention. The two passed silently overhead with the bison. Below he could just make out in the darkness squared patches of fields intersecting, each crop a slightly different shade of green. At the end of the fields came another wall, and after passing its threshold they began to descend. She must have had some idea of where they were going, possibly from her hired crew giving her a tip, but Zuko had been kept in the dark and he resented how dependent on her it made him. This was the enemy's city and being trapped within its walls left him on edge. Azula had the reins and lowered the animal carefully into a commercial district.

"I thought Ba Sing Se was wealthy," commented Zuko at the state of the dilapidated buildings and general squalor.

"We're in the Lower Ring. This is where they keep their peasants." She peered around looking for something, then maneuvered the bison one more block over where a man waved to her. "My contact."

He was a slim, greasy man with hair that was thinning under his cap. The bison touched down in the street outside a warehouse while the man carefully slid open a large wooden door. Inside the space was cleared out. "We'll keep the bison in here. We can't exactly stroll around with it, but we need it on hand. I have an idea for it," she said. Zuko coaxed the bison inside and the door was shut behind them. Hay had already been furnished, and the walls were lined with bales. Functionally it was as much soundproofing as food supply for the animal. He had the impression that the area was low trafficked, but that was different than true privacy, and he knew the animal could be loud when the mood struck. The bison curled up and dozed. "The cow has the right idea," said Azula. "The office space in the loft has been converted to a living space for us for the time being. I'm loathe to spend the night in such accommodations, but hopefully we won't be here too long. The problem is how to isolate the Avatar without alerting all his little friends and the city's military and police." At the top of the staircase a grey-haired woman in her fifties waited with a dinner set for the siblings. "She'll watch the animal while we're out. The man I'm having seek out intelligence for me. It's good to have servants even in a foreign nation. No need to be shy, Zuzu—they know who we are." She made a blue flame in her palm to demonstrate, and the woman gazed without surprise. "Happily the Avatar is here after all, training in earthbending. He's only had a few weeks so he won't be proficient yet."