The Forgotten Princess (SokkaxOC)

i. VIII

Azami P.o.V.

"Uh, when I said I'd be honored to learn, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

"Oh would you relax, for the last time, it's a uniform! Why do you think we wear them, even in combat?"

Azami grumbled, her hands fiddling with the dress she'd been forced to wear. She'd been thrilled at the prospect of learning to fight, but Suki had failed to mention at the time that she'd have to follow all of Kyoshi's traditions, including the facepaint and the uniform that, no matter how much Suki insisted against it, was a dress.

"I feel like I can barely move in this thing," Azami complained. "Not to mention that I look like a doll. Can't I just wear a shirt and pants?"

Suki shook her head. "You want to learn with us, you have to do it our way."

Azami just sighed before nodding her head in response. As much as she hated dresses for how restrictive they were, she still wanted to take Suki up on her offer.

"Alright, let's begin with some basic forms. You'll be using our fans, too, as they can be both helpful in offense and defense depending on how you use them. Kyoshi actually used them to improve her bending as well, so there may be some room for you to use your firebending with them."

Azami's eyes lit up at the prospect, but Suki immediately shut her down, "Which, may I add, you will NOT be doing anywhere near our wood buildings, am I clear?"

"Aww," she complained.

Sokka P.o.V.

It had been several hours since Sokka had made a fool of himself in front of the female warriors, and he was still filled with embarrassment over how he'd acted, and how easily he had been taken down. After he decided to finish sulking in the room he was given, he finally managed to unbend what little bit of his pride still remained and he headed towards the large building at the top of the village.

Peeking inside, he saw the girls moving through various poses, each move carefully controlled and executed. Earlier, he would've mocked them for dancing, but now he recognized that these were real warriors and how they trained, unlike him, who only pretended to fight. Taking a deep breath, he headed in.

"Uh, hey, Suki," he muttered.

She paused, and all the girls got up from their positions. "Hoping for another dance lesson?"

Sokka cast his eyes to the ground, his face burning in shame. "No... I... well, let me explain."

"Spit it out," she insisted. "What do you want?"

He stood there a moment, before realizing why he had come here. He knelt down, both hands on his knees as he bowed towards her. "I would be honored if you would teach me."

Suki crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed. "Even if I'm a girl?"

Sokka closed his eyes. "I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier. I was wrong."

He heard a light scoff in response, followed by a familiar voice. "Wow, he can apologize? You should take it and run while you can, Suki."

Suki smirked at the girl standing next to her, as Sokka's eyes shot up and focused on the same girl, only now noticing her amber eyes. He opened his mouth to offer some kind of witty remark, but he bit his tongue and glanced down - Azami was just trying to bait him, and he had to prove that he had truly been humbled and was looking to learn.

"Well... we've already taught one outsider today, but asking us to teach a boy is quite a stretch, Sokka," Suki commented.

Sokka bowed even lower, his head nearly touching the floor. "Please make an exception. I won't let you down."