The Forgotten Princess (SokkaxOC)

i. XXII

Since then, however, things had started getting a lot more tense in the group. She still couldn't believe Sokka had the nerve to try and suck up to her and apologize after the shit he pulled. No, he could keep his goddamn apology. It didn't matter to her anymore, he'd taught her a valuable lesson - don't let people into your issues. Ever.

"Hey, you ready to go in?"

Azami's head snapped up as she looked over at Aang, who was glancing up at her from her side. Before she even met his gaze, she'd already put back on her façade of a happy-ish demeanor, trying to keep him from worrying about her. He already had enough of a burden without her thrusting her problems on his shoulders.

"Of course," she smiled at him, and he seemed a little skeptical as he hesitantly smiled back. "Aang, before we go in, I just-"

She couldn't finish what she was going to say, as Appa suddenly crept up behind them and licked her, causing her to let out a squeal in surprise as a real smile took over her face. "Appa!" she complained. "Stop doing that!"

Fortunately, that seemed to do the trick, and Aang broke out into a real laugh, lifting the heavier mood that had set over them. Katara and Sokka soon followed behind the bison, and they started preparing to head into the village.

"You guys stay out of sight here while we go to the festival," Aang instructed to Momo and Appa. Momo instantly dove into a nearby bush, and Appa, being the adorable ball of fluff he is, simply laid down behind the same bush, hiding only his face from view. Perfect, Azami smiled to herself. Never change, Appa. Aang grinned, and he turned to the other three. "Ready disguises."

Sokka, Katara and Azami each pulled up a traveling cloak over their heads, hiding them mostly from view, while Aang simply yanked on his robes to bring his neckline up as a 'hood'. Azami just smirked, taking in the airbender's mastery in the art of stealth. "They'll never see you coming," she grinned as Katara laughed from behind her.

"Let's go," Aang exclaimed, and the group headed towards the village.

They got in without any issues, somehow even managing to get their masks without being recognized. Azami's was a red dragon, Katara's was a lady with lots of makeup on, Sokka's a blue smiling mask and Aang's a frowning red mask. Lifting both the boy's masks, Katara quickly swapped them to match their expressions underneath (Sokka was again pouting).

After wandering around for a bit, Aang spotted a nearby stand where the vendor was selling fire flakes - a Fire Nation classic, but probably a little spicey for the others. So, naturally, Sokka bought a bag and within a matter of seconds he was gagging and wiping at his tongue. "Flaming fire flakes? Hot?" Katara wondered aloud. "Who could've guessed."

"Hey, look at this," Aang called over to them, and they joined him in watching some kind of puppet show. The puppeteer had set up a miniature Firelord Ozai, which to be fair was decently detailed.

"Don't worry loyal citizens!" the 'puppet' told the crowd watching. "No one can surprise the Firelord!"

A small Earth Kingdom soldier puppet appeared behind the Firelord, and the kids watching all cried out in fear. Before Azami could blink, the Firelord puppet had turned to face the soldier, and burned it to a crisp with a flame from its mouth, causing the crowd to cheer.

That's new.

She turned to see Aang wandering off, and the three quickly raced to catch up with him. "Aang, hold on!" Katara cried. "Where are we going?"

The airbender shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "But there's a big crowd, so it must be good."

"Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution," Sokka remarked.