Chapter Text
The sound of chattering filled Sokka's ears when he stepped foot into the tea shop. A man practically doubled over laughing at one of the tables, not paying any mind to all the other patrons who gave him a side glance.
Each table was lit by a small candle placed in the middle. They gave off a warm light that illuminated the entire shop and complimented the nice smells of flowers and tea that surrounded them.
The shop was relatively empty and quiet besides those handful of patrons carrying on with their conversations. The voices sounded dull in his ears, dull and echoing at the same time. Not only that but his ears were ringing too
Sokkal waddled over to the nearest table and sat down in the corner, the high pitched sound nearly drove him to the brink of sanity.
Sokka sunk down in one of the seats of the table closest to the entrance and in the corner. He stared at the small flame on the table as the chit-chat around him pounded in his ears louder and louder while the ringing kept fading finally. His heart beat hard against his rib cage, it felt like the bones could shatter any moment now.
He stared down at his hand, practically burning a hole through it with the intensity of his gaze. His palm was still red and it ached with each light touch he pressed onto it with his fingers. The damage wasn’t serious and it was comforting to know that it will not leave a mark. He could deal with surface damage and even hide it, but he wasn’t sure how well he could hide his panic.
He set a tree on fire, he did. The thought felt so surreal, the entire thing was like a strange dream you’d forget an hour later. He thought it over again, replaying the moment in his head, how it felt, how it looked, how he panicked at the sight of his fire and ran away.
“Shit.” He mumbled under his breath quietly enough to be heard by anyone else. That won’t be easy to explain, especially since somehow Toph always knows when any of them are lying. It wasn’t as if he was a good liar anyways, even Appa would be able to tell if he was lying.
He could say that some kids played around with sparking rocks near them that set fire, but he was immediately able to poke holes into that story. Why would some kids from noble families be playing with sparking rocks? How would they even get their hands on them? Why was it near their house and why was it only that one tree?
For once Sokka wished his friends were all idiots. The only logical explanation would be that a fire bender did it, someone other than Sokka, but it could just as easily backfire as it could work out for him. The looming threat of the Fire Nation might put them up on the King’s list of important meetings, but it could easily get them kicked out of the city as well. Everyone so far seemed reluctant, even scared, to mention the war. It wouldn’t be unreasonable that the King would assume Aang brought trouble with him and kick them all out of the city. Or worse, they wouldn’t care at all, at least with the other option they’d consider doing something about the war especially since it was inside their walls now.
None of those questions even came to his biggest and most distracting one, how was this even possible? He knew non-benders could have bender children, Katara being one, but he has never heard of an example where two non-benders with the same heritage had a bender child that controlled an element different from their heritage.
Of course the most logical explanation would be that someone in his ancestry married outside their tribe and the Northern tribe. Though he wasn’t sure how accepted that would've been. It was unheard of now and no one talked to him about what it was like before the war. He couldn’t imagine anyone of his blood falling for a fire bender.
That put even more questions into his head. If it was something forbidden even before the war then perhaps that’s why no one ever told him and Katara that either of them could ‘turn out to be a rotten ashmaker’, as Sokka would so eloquently put it. Unless the affair was a secret that died with whoever committed it, forever buried since there would be no definitive way to learn the truth now. Of course the possibility that it was something much darker was always there, but it wasn't something he wanted to think about at that moment.
It felt unfair, no one prepared him for this, maybe no one even knew this could happen, and now it all fell on his shoulders in a matter of seconds. It was unfair.
He wasn’t sure if he could even bring it up to anyone at home or even Katara. The Fire Nation put them through so much and if no one knew that this could’ve happened at any point then no one would be able to help him. A pang of worry weighed down in his heart as the idea of being exiled from the tribe crossed his mind. It wouldn’t be unreasonable after what they’ve gone through in the past century, but the idea of losing his home, family, and friends scared him beyond belief.
Sokka couldn’t dwell on those thoughts much longer, a loud clatter startled him back to the real world. He hadn’t even realized that he had been staring at his palm all this time, pushing into the sensitive flesh with the tip of his thumb. He winced at the sharp pain he became too aware of all at once and pulled his finger away from the red skin while he exhaled a long sigh.
He only looked up once he heard footsteps fading further and further. The tray was still on the floor, but he quickly turned his attention to the back of the waiter leaving. Sokka didn’t think much of it. Occam's razor states that one should prefer the explanation that is simpler and doesn’t require unnecessary assumptions, so Sokka just shrugged this off and thought that something must have spilled on him. Half of the customers seemed careless enough to douse a poor waiter in tea.
Sokka didn’t mind having to wait for his turn, it gave him more time to think about everything that happened to him. He leaned back in his seat and stared down at the candle light again while he tried to brainstorm again, hopefully more level headed this time. The words bounced around in his head in a jumbled mess.
“I’m so sorry about that. My nephew can be quite careless.” An older voice almost made Sokka jump out of his skin. His eyes snapped up once more and widened when he came face to face with the familiar man.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. His mind raced with panic. Just when they thought they had finally gotten rid of them following. He reached up and behind his back where his boomerang usually was only to find the scabbard empty. Idiot, he yelled at himself in his head. He hadn’t realized in his panic that he dropped his weapon. To be fair it wasn’t as if he planned on being cornered by a fire bender.
“That seems painful.” He gestured to Sokka’s slightly burned palm. “I think I have just the thing for burns.”
“Did you follow us all the way over here?" Sokkal whisper-yelled, having seen how weird citizens act when it comes to the war, he figured it'd be best to keep his voice as low as he could. There was still that uneasy feeling in his gut about this city.
Sokkal stares towards the back door where the waiter had exited earlier. If his uncle is here then that must've been Zuko, but them working here made no sense in Sokka's mind. He couldn't picture that hot-headed maniac working as a waiter even just for a cover. Besides, why would a prince need that? If Sokka was a prince with an entire shop and crew of trained fighters he definitely would've come up with a better plan to capture them.
"Oh no, we're not here for you and your friends.” The older man responded with a smile in his words that gave off the impression that what Sokka said was ridiculous. That answer made Sokka's confusion even more apparent on his face. "We're here as refugees just like everyone else.”
“I have a hard time believing that." Sokka scoffed.
"I'm sure it is.” He laughed in a way that calmed Sokka's nerves just a bit. He hated that some people had that effect on others. “Now, I would hate to let someone leave injured. Would you mind if I took a look at it? I have quite the experience in treating burns.”
"Yeah, figures…” Sokka mutters, but the old man has a point. If he had Katara look at it, he'd have to answer even more questions. It's proof he was close to the fire. And while Zuko was, well, Zuko, his uncle seemed rather harmless. One of the other patrons, the one who was undoubtedly drunk, tried to start up a conversation with him before his friend told him to be quiet. So Sokka made up his mind and turned his palm up.
The man hummed.
"How did this happen?”
"Uh, sparking rock accident?” Sokka covered up the uncertainty with a shrug, it seemed to have been enough now. "So, uh…”
"How rude of me, Iroh." He introduced himself and gave Sokka's good hand a firm hold, the best attempt at the water tribe greeting he could remember. It was enough to catch Sokka off guard. “But I would prefer if you kept our stay a secret and called me ‘Mushi’ here."
“Right…” Sokka was dumb sometimes, but even a blind man could see that Iroh was getting somewhere with this sudden trust. But that contagious smile gave away nothing of the old man's plan. “Why exactly are you here if not to get Aang?"
"That is complicated, isn't it?” Iroh gave a question back as he poked and prodded Sokka's tender burned palm. He didn't think it was that bad until a particularly harsh jab. Fortunately he didn't get a look after he winced, it would've hit his pride even harder. “You've met my niece more than once, the family reunion wasn't very pleasant."
Sokka scrunched his face slightly at the non-answer. They were on the same side so why would it matter?
"I will get you something for your hand, you're lucky the burn wasn't any worse.”
“Yeah, my hand was right in the fire. I'm surprised I still have anything on my bones left." Sokka forced a more lighthearted tone into his tired voice. Iroh paused after his words, but didn't say anything else.
Sokka stayed put as Iroh left. He kept his eyes on the back door in case Zuko decided to return and set him on fire. Though he wasn't sure how much he could do to fight back in that case.
It was strange. He had this nagging feeling to stay, as if coming here was something that was meant to be. Aang had talked a few times about fate and he had heard the elders of the village talk about how the spirits lead people together and wrote their stories, but Sokka never believed any of that. Still, he felt like he couldn't get up and leave, but he told himself that was only because his legs still felt like jelly.
Though, a part of him in the back of his mind was whispering to him, telling him there's a silver lining here, he could get something out of them. For whatever reason they're hiding here and they just so happen to be the closest fire benders who could help him with his new problem, even if he'd rather cut off a hand than ask those two or any fire bender for help in any other circumstances.
But this wasn't any other circumstance. He felt like he was at risk of losing everything from his life before. Katara, their father, their home, their friends. Everything. If he could just use their need to keep their stay a secret to gain a favour, maybe all of this could fly under the radar while he needs it. That is as long as their reason to hide out in Ba Sing Se isn't anything of concern. Spirits he was getting a headache.
Sokka must've zoned out for a bit because he was suddenly jolted back to reality by Iroh’s presence. He has been zoning out a lot lately, it worried him sometimes but he put it low on the list of things to worry about.
Iroh came back with a salve that looked like it had been sitting in a box for a few years. It probably had been. Sokka wasn't sure how long he had been zoned out for, but there were only three of them left in the tea shop now. Just him, Iroh and…
Sokka's heart almost jumped out of its place when his eyes met the other pair that stared daggers into him like a stray cat guarding their territory. His legs suddenly felt alive again and he shot up, almost knocking over everything Iroh had brought over, including the cups of tea Sokka only noticed once the hot contents almost spilled.
Sokka pulled his arms up into a defensive position, fists clenched tight, though his stance only earned him an unimpressed look from the taller teen. It felt strange to see Zuko like this, working in a tea shop wearing a little apron. It would’ve been funny if he didn’t almost jump up to the ceiling like Momo has done before.
“Do not worry, he is as peaceful as me." Iroh tries to reassure him, but it sounds more like a semi-nervous attempt to keep the peace between them. He even added in a more hushed tone “For the time being."
The calmness emanating from the man was almost unnerving in contrast to all he and his friends went through because of Zuko.
“How could he ever be peaceful?" Sokka basically yelled with how loud his voice was climbing. He gestured wildly towards Zuko as if Iroh wasn't aware of his nephew's existence. To his surprise, the man actually laughed.
"Well, neither of us want to be caught hiding here. My nephew might be impulsive and irrational at times, but even he can see reason when need be.”
Zuko grumbled something under his breath after Iroh gave a nondetailed answer, but Sokka didn't catch whatever he said. He eyed the fire bender warily. Zuko's stance was tense, he had his arms crossed in a way that screamed that he was holding something back, but otherwise he seemed non-threatening. Although those eyes practically burned through Sokka. Whatever Iroh might've said to his nephew while he was out and in his own head seemed good enough to actually make Zuko compliant to whatever they wanted from him.
Sokka's shoulders slowly dropped and his eyes narrowed as he looked between the other two.
“Okay.” Sokka drew out the "a” a little bit. "What do you want from me?”
“We would like to keep our stay a secret.” Bingo.
“And why should I? He tried to kill us multiple times.” Sokka cut off Iroh from saying anything else and pointed with effort towards Zuko who was still just standing in the corner and watching them.
“We figured you might need some more fire related help in the future.” The old man gave him a knowing smile that made Sokka’s heart drop. He hadn’t realized how easy it was to read him until now. He didn’t know what he said that gave it away, but they figured him out within minutes. It shouldn’t have been so surprising given one of them was a general and definitely had experience getting information from people, but it was eerie enough to make Sokka’s brain freeze.
“We’ve been handling the Fire Nation, including his psycho sister, well enough on our own.” Sokka played dumb with faux confidence, arms crossed to really sell it. He couldn’t admit that whatever they were thinking was correct. Even if what Iroh said is true and they really are just hiding out here, they were still the enemy.
Only at the mention of his sister did Zuko finally look away, he seemed deep in thought instead. Sokka didn’t pay too much attention to it, he instead enjoyed the relief of not being watched with so much contempt and anger.
Sokka stared down at the tea and salve on the table, then at Iroh’s forever patient expression. He didn’t feel ready to walk back already and lie to his sister and friends. Even staying with a war criminal and the prince to a Nation currently trying to take over the world felt preferable to Katara’s anger when she eventually realizes he’s lying. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but there really is nothing scarier to him than Katara’s anger.
The more he thought about it, the more beneficial it seemed to keep their secrets. When would be the next time he could potentially find someone who could help him control his newly discovered bending before he loses control again and does more damage? This was his chance, even if it was a chance that hurt to take. He had the upper hand here by knowing their identities, or at least he felt like he had. There was no real way to tell if they could avoid being caught by other means unless he ratted them out.
He had to remind himself to stay careful if he were to accept their offer. There’s a reason why Zuko isn’t acting like his usual Zukoness, but rather like a cannon waiting to go off with all the tension rolling off him. Whatever that reason was, it made Sokka even more uneasy.
“So, hypothetically, if someone were to have fire related issues, not saying that anyone does, you would be willing to help?” Sokka slowly shrunk back into his seat and raised a brow in pure scepticism. “Like maybe if a tree mysteriously set itself on fire.”
“You could start by keeping your voice down.” Zuko marched to the window by the other end of the room and stared out like he was looking for something. Sokka supposed it was understandable he’d be on edge considering who they were.
Sokka absentmindedly picked up his now cold tea and sipped it as she glanced out the windows too. There was nothing but darkness out there and a few people chattering a bit further down the street. Sokka didn’t have that feeling of being watched anymore, but the other teen was agitated by something, other than the obvious, which gave him the same uneasy feeling low in his gut again.
“Why don’t you come back tomorrow morning? I’m sure my nephew would be delighted to teach you a few things.” Iroh’s cheery words almost made Sokka choke on his jasmine tea. Zuko’s head immediately snapped to them with an equally scandalized expression on his face.
“Why him?” If Sokka was being honest, he’d rather have Iroh help him than that walking ticking bomb.
“Someone needs to keep the tea shop running. Pao helped us a lot, we can’t both abandon his tea shop.” Iroh explained calmly as he applied the salve onto Sokka’s burned skin. It felt cool against his palm, the feeling made him relax just a bit.
To his surprise, despite clearly not liking the idea either, Zuko didn’t blow up at all. Maybe it was because he knew it was a mutually beneficial exchange, Sokka figured a prince would know how to negotiate and when to take a good deal, or maybe it was something else he was unaware of. It didn’t matter as long as he had the advantage long enough for them to teach him how to control it, or rather how to hide it.
A part of him wondered if there was a way to get rid of it. He always wanted to be a bender, watching Katara when they were younger always sparked jealousy inside him, but he didn’t want it like this. Not with fire. It went against his entire being, or he thought so at least. It wasn’t him at all, it didn’t feel like him.
He glanced at Zuko. Sokka didn’t want to admit it, but he wondered what the other must be thinking, especially given how quiet he was all of the sudden. Sokka couldn’t imagine a prince had to do many things he didn’t want to, so this silence from him was rather off putting, even if any amount of negotiating experience would experience his uncharacteristic acceptance. Sokka couldn't shake the feeling there was something more to it, something they both knew but not him.
“Why are you staying in the city?" Sokka asked bluntly. There was no need to tiptoe around the question that they all knew would inevitably surface. They weren't idiots, they knew Sokka would have to tell someone if they were here for any nefarious reasons, and Sokka knew that too. If only Toph and her crazy accurate lie detection skills were here, maybe then Sokka wouldn't have to watch them so closely.
"Family issues.” Iroh replied, short and lacking any context that would lessen Sokka's anxieties about learning from them. He didn't see any signs of a lie on either of them. Zuko was still quiet and tense, which if it was anyone else would make Sokka worry even more, but his lack of burning everything around him down was a big selling point to Sokka. He knew they were against Azula once, though he had no idea why, it was another point towards believing them. He hated trying to be rational more and more.
"Thank you for the tea.” Sokka stood up, leaving his half finished cup abandoned. He didn't say anything else or even confirm if he would show up tomorrow or not. Not because he wanted to keep them on their toes as a misguided strategy, but because he himself wasn't sure if this was what he wanted.
The streets were a lot quieter by the time Sokka left the tea shop that was supposed to close half an hour ago. The air was a lot colder now, it felt like each slight breeze nipped at his skin just a bit too harshly. Sometimes he still got the privilege to enjoy the cold night air, other times it felt like he was in a freezer. On the inside he hoped that with a bit of help he’ll be able to control his strange body temperature.
He hated everything about this, but most of all, that he couldn't talk to his friends about it. Maybe Aang would understand, he still holds hope for a life like before the war, though he doesn't talk a lot about what it was really like beyond him and his friends. Toph would probably come around to it too, although it would come with a lifetime of being made fun of if she did.
It was Katara he was worried about. They suffered so much because of the Fire Nation, he hated them and he had absolutely no doubt Katara hated them more. The rational part of his mind knew Katara would love him no matter what, but his nagging anxiety squished that comforting thought in an instant. Even if she came around and accepted this part of him, everything would change forever.
“Sokka!" His head snapped up towards the sound of his name and the familiar voice. Katara collided with him in a hug. He could practically feel anxiety pouring out of her too.
Sokka wrapped his arms around her too. He hadn't fully realised how worried she'd be when she saw the burnt tree and he was nowhere to be seen. It was only a passing thought to him, but it probably ate away at her.
"What happened? Are you okay?” Katara pulled back to take a look at him. Sokka's shoulders relaxed when she didn't immediately start yelling at him. Katara grabbed his lightly bandaged hand to look at it.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, just a scratch.” Sokka pulled his hand back and waved off Katara's concerns, something she didn't appreciate based on the annoyed look she shot at him. "I just…caused a distraction?"
Katara's eyes widened in disbelief, seemingly believing him at face value. She punched him in the shoulder, not too hard, but enough to let him know she's pissed.
“That was your idea for a distraction? I thought the Fire Nation was after us again!"
“Nope. No Fire Nation here." Sokka grinned like an idiot. "And it's not like I meant to set the whole thing on fire. But maybe this time someone will take us seriously about the war."
“I think we could've found a better way of doing it.” Katara began to walk back so Sokka followed her. She was still annoyed, her arms were crossed, but she wasn't tense anymore. "We've been looking for you."
“We?" Sokka asked and immediately got his answer in the form of an elbow in his side opposite of where Katara is.
“Yes, we." Toph’s unbothered voice rang in his ear.
“Can you stop sneaking up on me?" Sokka rubbed his sore side.
“And I'm the blind one?" Toph scoffed. She, on the other hand, was still tense. Damn it, human lie detector. “Twinkle toes is probably still flying around somewhere."
The walk was quiet for a while. He wasn't sure how late it was, but all the shops that had been open when he came down here had all closed by now. The silence felt strange, it wasn't awkward, but it wasn't nice either. It was heavy, but not unbearable, just there.
"How did it go at the party?” Sokka asked once they arrived at the passage between the Lower and Middle Ring.
"Bad. This Long Feng guy gave me the creeps." Toph shivered a little to add dramatics to her words, or maybe she was cold too, Sokka couldn't really tell.
“We have to find another way to talk to the King." Katara's mind was already working on it, Sokka could see the cogs turn in her head from the way she was staring ahead of herself, but not really looking at anything. She wasn't getting far, they both looked sleepy and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't feeling tired.
But once it was time to actually sleep, Sokka just tossed and turned in his bed. The events of today and the offer didn't let him sleep. He stared at his hands in the dark. One of them was still bandaged. Katara offered to heal it, but Sokka didn't let her, saying “it'll make their efforts go to waste". Them being the kind strangers Sokka made up to avoid more questioning.
He didn't want the burn to go away just like that. He did it, he made fire with just his hands, he can't let it go even though he really wants it to be gone. He badly wanted to see if he could do it again, but he was too worried about starting a big fire and burning this entire place down.
Fire was a killer, especially in the hands of a bender. It was destruction, it never showed mercy. He wanted to hide it away and never let it come back again even if it meant it would burn him from the inside.
Sokka shut his eyes and turned on his back. He had to focus on their mission too. If he's not going to sleep he might as well think of a way to tell the King what they learned at the library. The library. He skimmed through all kinds of books and scrolls there, most of it a blur now, but he recalled having read about a way to take a bender's bending. The text was a whole bunch of nothing besides a few key points that he locked away in his memory. Something about the Avatar, something about the consequences, blah blah blah.
Sokka shot up out of bed like a cannonball. If Sang could take his bending away, everything would be fine. He wouldn't have to worry about setting something on fire or about the fire benders hiding away in the Lower Ring.
He carefully opened the door to not make any noise and snuck out of his room, heading straight to the neighbouring room where Aang was sleeping.
“Hey, wake up." Sokka shook his friend's shoulder until the boy practically jumped up, startled by being woken up so suddenly. "We need to talk.”
"Is something wrong?” Aang was still half asleep, his eyelids were heavy and he could barely sit up right.
"At the library I read a paper about a past avatar that was able to take away someone's bending. Can you do that?”
"Why would I want to take someone's bending?” Aang mumbled sleepily. Sokka couldn't come up with an answer fast enough and just stared at him in the dark. "Are you worried about the war?”
“Yeah, the war. That's it, nothing else.” Sokka finally let go of Aang's shoulders that he had been gripping tightly to hold the boy up.
"Taking away someone's bending is very serious, Sokka.” Aang rubbed his eyes to wake himself up. "It's a big part of us.”
"It can't be that important, non-benders, we live without it just fine.”
"That's different. A bender's entire being is intertwined with their bending even before they discover it. Losing it would mean losing their sense of identity.” Aang said like he was trying to recite something he learned a long time ago, but couldn't remember the exact words and maybe even a few sentences too.
That wasn't at all what Sokka was hoping to hear. If he was a bender, which he very much seemed to be, that meant this was always and will forever be a part of him. He won't be able to go back to living how he did as a non-bender because he was never one. Suddenly he felt like bending wasn't a blessing, but something that binded them to an energy they had to carry with them forever.
"Hey Aang, what was life like before the war?" Sokka switched topics to avoid thinking about what nagged him. He wanted to know how this was even possible even though he knew he'll never really find out. He wanted to know if it was possible in a way that wasn't the worst case scenario he wasn't willing to address yet. “What was it like between the nations? I know you said you had friends everywhere, but did people used to marry into other nations too?”
“Are you asking because of Suki?" Aang grinned and nudged his arm a little. Sokka's entire face heated up.
"Yeah, Suki…” Guilt rose up in his gut. He hasn't thought about Suki since they said goodbye to each other. Sure he'd been busy and anxious with everything else, but he really should've wondered about her and her safety more, even if he had no doubts that she can take care of herself.
"It was different everywhere. Even within Nations, some regions allowed it and some rejected it completely.” Aang rubbed his eyes once again, sleep was quickly creeping back up on him. "I hope everything will go back to how it was after we finish the war.”
"Me too. It sounds nice.” Sokka mumbled. He didn't keep his friend up much longer and snuck back into his own room.
It still didn't sit well with him that someone in his ancestry might've loved an ashmaker, someone who would now burn their home to the ground. Even if at some point it wasn't like that.
Sokka sighed and shut his eyes. He had no choice now, if Aang won't take his bending, then he has to learn how to control it and hide it no matter what.
Azula's fingers tapped impatiently against her knee as she stared at papers upon papers of useless plans made by useless idiots. She failed, again. She failed to capture her brother and uncle, the avatar, and she even failed to invade Ba Sing Se despite her perfectly designed plan. Though now she would say it had too many holes that were the fault of the engineers and the general that was with her, a bold lie no one dared to question.
Failure wasn't an option for her. Her father tried to hide it, but it was painfully obvious to Azula that Zuko and Iroh's betrayal bothered the man. Losing two pawns, two easily controlled idiots was nothing more worthy in war, but they weren't just two idiots. Ozai saw them as a problem and therefore so did Azula.
And to her, he was right, like always. Ever since the avatar made his presence known all the leads those two dug up have been very helpful to all the other idiots her father hired. They didn't need to do any of the real work, their continuous failure despite that always amazed Azula.
Now that those two weren't under the Fire Lord's control they posed a much bigger threat than Azula would've liked to admit. Iroh was obvious, he was always a weak hearted traitor. He never truly stood by his family unless it was the weaker links he could influence, like Zuko and their mother.
Her dear brother, that's the loose end she never gave a single thought to up until now. He was weak, he could never hurt her or their father, but she failed to consider what else he could do. Another failure she couldn't afford. He has improved since he was banished, too much for what she predicted for him. Azula has heard a word or two about the rising dissatisfaction with the Fire Lord amongst the people. Although she doubts Zuko is smart enough to play his cards right, she has to account for the fact that he could easily win over the common idiot with his sob story and his sudden improvement in the past three years.
Azula refused to fail again, even if it meant she had to calculate with the unlikely scenarios in mind as well. Luck seemed to have been on her brother's side since the avatar's return. She never felt this close to their father's anger. Without Zuko, all her shortcomings are on display and magnified due to their father's concealed rage, something she planned on never becoming the recipient of.
None of the previous plans could work now. Too many loose threads, too many what ifs that seemed more and more threatening to her position the more time passed. No matter what she did, time kept passing anyways. She scrunched up those old plans, tearing a few of the papers in the process and tossed them aside. She had a few more days before she had no choice but to report back to her father with a new plan.
Azula will not be another failure.