Azula's Journey

Scars of War

Azula held on tightly to Ro as they bounded through the trees on Hira. They had been riding since very early that morning. She didn't understand why he insisted they needed to get moving so early. It wasn't like they were being chased.

The sun had reached the center of the sky when the stopped. Before them, a vast desert expanded into the horizon. The area barren with the exception of a cactus here or there.

"The Si Wong Desert?" Azula questioned. "Why are we here?"

Ro smiled, looking at her over his shoulder. "You know your geography, impressive. As for why we're here, I was thinking we could hit up the Oasis. It's a great place to gather information. Someone may know a place we can stay."

Ro was right, it was a good place to gather information. But that's what also made it dangerous. Bounty hunters from all over gathered at the Oasis to gather intell. Ro may not recognize her, but they would. Especially with the bounty on her head.

"Couldn't we just find a town and ask around?" Azula asked. "Surely we don't need to traverse the desert to find a place to stay."

Ro huffed, jumping down from Hira's back. "Come on Mai, it'll be fun. Plus there's someone I want to meet up with. It's important."

Azula's interest was peaked. "And what is so important you'd travel the desert to find?"

"What are you so freaked our about that you go into manic states?" Ro shot back.

Azula frowned, jumping down in front of him. "That's none of your concern."

Ro sighed and started to unpack. "Then it's not your business what I want at the Oasis."

"Fine." Azula relented for the time being. She'd come back to it later. "But why are we making camp? Shouldn't we keep going?"

"The desert is too hot right now and Hira's paws would get burned on the sand." Ro explained, unrolling his bedroll. "That's why I woke you early. We can sleep now and travel to the Oasis by night. It will be cold but if we use our breath of fire we'll keep the chill at bay."

Azula was impressed. "That's actually a smart plan, Ro. I guess you do know your stuff."

"Rozon." Ro corrected her, collecting nearby sticks to build a fire.

Azula furrowed her brow in confusion. "What?"

"Rozon." Ro repeated. "My full name is Rozon. I go by Ro because it sounds less fire nation."

Azula tossed some sticks on the pile he was making. "Why are you so insistent on separating yourself from your home country? You should be proud to be Fire Nation."

"Proud?" Ro scoffed. "Why would I be proud of a nation that started a hundred year war? Why would I be proud of a nation that sent my parents to fight until their deaths? Why would I be proud of a nation that's caused so much pain and suffering? After my grandmother died, I was alone. And you know what happened? They tried to send me off to a boot camp that would turn me into a soldier. I was 12! I didn't want to fight! So I ran away. Lived my life in a cave. The people in that village, the Earth Kingdom, its all felt more like home then the Fire Nation ever did."

Azula didn't understand. "Your parents died as heroes fighting for their country. You had a chance to do the same. Why wouldn't you take it?"

"Because they didn't have to die, Mai." Ro admitted. "Fire Lord Ozai could have ended it all when he took the throne. Instead, he pushed further. Do you know what it's like to lose someone to the war? You wake up one day to a knock at the door. They hand you a folded up flag, a medal, and a photo. They say they're sorry then leave you to pick up the pieces. The money my parents got from serving their nation was all we had. When they died we got nothing. My grandmother was too old to work. I was too young. Neighbors brought us food for a while but it didn't last long. So yeah, my parents may be revered as heroes. All the other soldiers who fought and died may be heroes. But the truth is everyone remembers what they did, but no one thinks about what they left behind."

Azula was silent. She had never thought about that before. At the palace they had simply pulled the strings. Until the comet, her father had never fought in the war. Until the Avatar returned, she had never left the Fire Nation. They had never had to worry about losing anything. But she realized, Ro had lost everything.

Many soldiers had marched from the Fire Nation to the Earth Kingdom and sailed to the water tribes. How many had returned? How many lost their lives? She didn't know. They had simply been numbers and pieces on her father's war map.

"I'm....sorry." Azula forced out. "I guess you could say we've lived with very different views on the war."

Ro lit the fire then laid down on his bedroll. "Yeah, guess we have."

Azula sighed and laid on her own bedroll. One thing was for sure, Ro had given her a lot to think about.