DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just recruit for the Freedom Fighters. Sign here, please. Welcome!
On a cloudy Monday, Lan walked into Advanced Calligraphy class for the first time. She had been promoted out of the elementary calligraphy class when the teacher saw her skill, and this was her first day in the new class. She entered the room with her new textbook and pens clutched beneath her arm. The class was already in session, and 21 pairs of eyes turned to her.
Including Azula's. The Princess's eyes narrowed at the sight of her adopted cousin, and a small, malevolent smile came over her face. Lan Chi groaned silently.
"Ah, Lady Lan Chi. Welcome!" The teacher clapped her hands to gain the class's attention. "Girls! We have a new student today. Please make Lady Lan Chi Sun feel welcome!"
"Welcome." A smattering of voices echoed.
"That does not sound very welcoming! Again, please, with feeling!"
Lan cringed as a falsely hearty welcome rang through the room.
"Much better, girls! Lan Chi, there's an empty seat in the back."
Lan Chi shuffled to the back of the classroom, and settled down on a cushion in the back row. She quietly laid her things down on the low desk as the teacher launched back into a lecture on the perfect way to make the curve of the character that meant dragon.
One of her roommates waved at her from the end of the row, and she smiled back weakly. She did not know the girls on either side of her, but she could see the back of Azula's head three rows in front of her. Azula's evil head. Attached to her evil body.
"Blech," Lan said quietly.
The girl next to Lan looked at her darkly.
Lan sighed and tried to pick up the thread of the teacher's words.
After class, she took a long time gathering up her things, hoping that Azula would leave first, and that she could avoid Zuko's sister completely. That was not to be, however. Azula came to her desk and smiled down at her condescendingly.
"I wanted to come over here and give you a proper welcome, cousin!" Azula's voice was treacly sweet.
Lan did not know what to say. "Uh, thank you, Azula."
Azula's lips pursed. "I think you mean Princess Azula."
Lan rolled her eyes. "Princess Azula."
"I'm sooo glad you've started here! And how convenient for you that you are boarding! We dayschoolers have to get up early every day to come here from our homes. Oh, but I forgot! You don't have a home. Both your parents are dead and Uncle Iroh abandoned you."
Lan jumped up. "He did not abandon me! He'll be back - he's just upset about Lu Ten! Not like you - you don't care about anyone but yourself. You don't even care that your own mother just died!"
Smoke, from Azula's fingertips, curled around her books. "Do you expect me to lie around crying like a baby, like Zuko?"
"At least he has a heart!"
"And are you trying to worm your way into it? Or just into his bedroom?" She spun on her heel and stomped away.
Lan's eyes widened, and she ran after Azula. She grabbed her shoulder and swung her around. "It was you! You told your father I was there!"
"As if I would've let you get away with it! My brother might be stupid, but he shouldn't be stuck with a dirty half-breed like you for the rest of his life!"
