The Phoenix Priestess || Book One: Water

Bending Fire

Aori was not usually one for (as some would say it) 'parlor tricks', but as she spoke her last few words, she took a deep breath, cupped her hands around her mouth, and spit out a burning Phoenix from her mouth, showing off to the siblings. She laughed silently to herself as she practically heard Sokka's jaw hit the snow, and Katara's clapping goaded her on.

It continued this way for most of the morning, and by now she had almost already gone through all of her training sets. "Wow Aori, I had no idea you were such a skilled bender!" Katara exclaimed once the pale-skinned brunette had announced that she was done for the day.

"Well, I would hope I was! After all, I have been training since I was six. I would like to think that I retained some of what I was taught." she laughed, helping the siblings to their feet. Aori felt warmth swell in her chest—these two who had experienced so much in their lives, were willing to overlook the fact that she was a fire bender... she thought that the day would never come. Walking home with Sokka in the middle, the brother put his arms around the girls as they walked. Katara merely laughed, and Aori did too, but her gaze was focused at her feet. 'That's right... This is what family feels like. It's been so long I had almost forgotten...'

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It was the day after Prince Ozai's scouts had brought her to the palace, and she was still a bit weepy. She was only eight - how was she supposed to know why she had been brought there! Just because they had told her she was some reborn priestess or whatever, didn't mean she fully understood what was going on. She had been summoned to the courtyard to meet the Royal children, but if they were anything like Prince Ozai, Aori wanted nothing to do with them. So that's why she was currently sobbing in her room, hiding in a corner, hoping silently that if she were to close her eyes, she'd be back home with her mother and father.

A soft knock on her door alerted her attention, and she shivered, muffling a sob behind the sleeve of one of the fancy clothes that they had replaced her usual attire with.

"Aori, dear? Are you well?" a gentle voice asked, and into her room walked the Fire Princess, Lady Ursa. Scarlet eyes wide, the sobbing child hid her face from view, but the princess stepped over to her, placing a gentle hand on her head. "Oh child... it was too soon to take you from your parents." The princess was quite different  from the other royals--how she had ever come to marry Ozai was a mystery to her. Slowly, the crying ceased to a halt and after rubbing her red eyes a bit, Aori gently took the Fire Princess's hand and allowed herself to be brought to the courtyard."Come with me - I'd like you to meet my children."

In the courtyard was a large tree, and a small pool where turtle ducks fed upon a loaf of bread floating in the water. Two children were already playing, but they quickly halted in front of their mother once they had seen her approach. "Aori, these are my children, Azula" the girl grinned widely, and if Aori hadn't known any better, she would have added the word maniacally to that description as well, "and Zuko." The boy looked more her age while Azula was younger, but not by much. Zuko bowed to her respectively, and she dipped her head in quiet acknowledgement.

Seeing Zuko bowed and off-guard, Azula took the opportunity and with a smirk, pushed him down so he cried out and fell into the grass. Lady Ursa had a stern, motherly-look to her features as she walked over to berate the young Fire Princess who continued to have an indignant look upon her face. "Azula! That is not very lady-like, and certainly not a nice thing to do to your brother!"

"Sorry mom, I just tripped over my own two feet," the girl shrugged, a smug grin on her features. Walking up to the brunette, Azula looked her over. "Wow, your eyes are pretty red, have you been crying?" Her bluntness startled Aori, and she used a hand to cover her mouth as she struggled biting back more tears.

"That's it, little lady, come here this instant." Lady Ursa's eyes narrowed as Azula sniffed, nose in the air and hands on her hips, before she walked over. They bickered for a bit, but as mother and daughter exchanged retorts, Aori sighed, calming her nerves. A whole lot of good crying would do her. Quietly stepped over to the fallen prince, she smiled softly as she held out a hand to him. The prince looked to her warily, golden orbs gleaming in mistrust. Was she like Azula?  No, she really was the opposite of Azula, and it didn't take him long to realize. Taking her hand, though a little bit of uncertainty lingered in his movements, he smiled softly at her.

"I... ehem... Thank you." he coughed, nodding his head to her. Aori merely smiled and nodded back, following after him as he motioned for her to come with him. He led her to the pond that took up a good bit of the courtyard, and handed her some stale bread from the kitchen. "I... I like to feed the turtle ducks. You're welcome to join me."

Aori couldn't help but blink in surprise. There was already quite a difference from his sister and his father, and the contrast nearly startled her into saying something rash out loud, as in 'you take after your mother'. She wasn't entirely sure how he was going to take that. Not being able to help but smile, she fed the turtle ducks with Prince Zuko until it was time for dinner.

The day after had also happened to be the beginning to the end of her childhood innocence, but she still liked to look back on one of her last happy memories, relishing the existence that there was once a time where she too was a carefree child. How she wished she had not lost that innocence. Here she stood though, realizing her true calling even after being forcefully fed a destiny she had never wanted. Here, she stood against the Fire Nation, with people at her side who could look past her heritage and see her as a person. With Katara and Sokka, she felt like she had found a new family to call home.