The Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior

Chapter 43 [~|~] Penguin Sledding

"So, what do you guys do for fun around here?" Aang asked, looking between the children.

"Hmm, well people used to go penguin sledding," one boy spoke up, causing Aang to jump to his feet.

"You guys have penguin sledding here too?!" Aang exclaimed as Katara and Azara chuckled at his reaction.

"Yeah, except the penguins moved west a few years ago. You have to sled out there," a small girl sighed, as Aang whirled around.

"A sled . . . or a flying bison," Aang pointed out as the children cheered. Aang raced to get Appa from the stalls, Katara and Azara helping the smaller children into the saddle.

"What's going on here?" a voice called out from behind them. Azara turned to see Princess Yue and Sokka walking side by side towards them.

"We're going penguin sledding! Want to come?" Aang offered as Azara placed the last of the children into the saddle.

"Oh . . . I don't know if that's the best—" Yue started to rebuff the offer, but Azara spoke up.

"—Come on, Yue. Princesses have to let their hair down sometimes," Azara interrupted, holding out a hand to her.

"Oh, alright," Yue conceded, after sharing a glance with Sokka. Azara helped her into the saddle as Sokka climbed up after her, Appa taking off soon afterwards. Azara talked quietly with Yue as her and Sokka avoided eye contact. She knew that they were being extremely petty, but she didn't want to push her luck with Sokka.

Aang set down Appa next to a mound of snow, several penguins waddling around. Aang hurried to lead the children towards the penguins, Katara shaking her head in amusement and following behind him, leaving Azara, Yue, and Sokka standing by Appa. "Would you like to go penguin sledding?" Azara offered Yue, who looked at the penguins with slight concern on her face.

"I don't know if my dress would fit on the penguin," Yue chuckled as Azara shrugged.

"I'm sure we can get Aang or Katara to bend us a bigger sled," Azara offered, before running off to ask Katara to do just that. Sokka leaned against Appa as Yue waited patiently for Azara to return.

"So, you and Azara are closer than I thought," Sokka mentioned offhandedly as Yue turned to him.

"Despite our differences, we have a lot in common. I've never met another princess before. It's nice to talk to someone raised with a similar burden," Yue explained as Katara bended a sled for Azara and Yue out of the snow, Aang already sliding down the hill on a penguin.

"Makes sense," Sokka nodded as a period of silence fell over them.

"Are you and Azara close?" Yue questioned; her hands clasped in front of her dress.

"We're . . ." Sokka trailed off, remembering their argument from earlier. "It's complicated," Sokka finally replied, staring at the ground. He knew he had to apologize to Azara for his previous actions and words, but the timing was the difficult part.

"That's surprising," Yue commented, causing Sokka to stare up at her with shock.

"How so?"

"Well, when I asked her about it previously, the way she talked about you . . . I guess I wrongly assumed you two were really close."

"We've been through a lot together," Sokka sighed, looking up as Azara approached with the ice sled in hand.

"Ready to go?" Azara asked, staring at Yue as a wide smile engulfed her features.