Azami P.o.V.
"You have no idea where you're going, do you?"
"Well... I know it's near water."
Oh great, Azami thought sarcastically. We're almost there! Looking around, there was nothing but ocean as far as the eye could see. Why exactly had they left the planning to Aang?
Sokka deadpanned, clearly, he was just as unimpressed with Aang's navigating skills. "I guess we're getting close then."
Katara was busy trying to sew Sokka's pants together, which meant the teenager was sitting uncomfortably close to Azami without any clothing on beneath his waist, a sight Azami was desperately trying to avoid. She leaned over the saddle, tuning out Aang's words as she heard him trying to impress Katara for the tenth time on this trip.
So far, they'd had time for six stops since leaving the south pole, and their dynamic had been pretty monotonous. Sokka complains about meat, Katara takes on the motherly role, and Aang tries to impress her while Azami tries not to go insane. Unfortunately for her, she did overhear Sokka's next comment. "...you need to give girls space when they do their sowing."
Not expecting to hear something so blatantly sext, Azami choked a little before snapping her head around to face the water tribe boy. "Excuse me?"
Katara looked just as irritated with Sokka, if not more so. "What does me being a girl have to do with sewing?"
Sokka just shrugged. "Simple, girls are better at fixing pants than guys, and guys are better at hunting, fighting, stuff like that. It's just the natural order of things."
Azami raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Well, in that case, you clearly wouldn't be afraid to fight me, right? I'm sure a big, strong man like yourself wouldn't back down from being challenged by a girl." Sokka spluttered, not expecting her response, but before he could say anything the firebender had turned to Katara. "What do you think, Kat? You think Sokka could win in a duel?"
Katara just smirked. "I think you're right, clearly sparring with Sokka would, ah, help you improve, since I'm so sure he's a better fighter," she replied, sarcasm dripping in her voice. "Oh, and by the way, Sokka? I'm all done with your pants! And look at what a great job I did!"
She threw Sokka's pants back in his face, causing Azami to giggle softly as he desperately pleaded with his sister. "Wait, I was just kidding! I can't wear these! Katara, please!"
He shoved his hand through the gaping hole in his pants (it was located right between the legs of the pants, and Azami didn't even want to consider thinking about how that had happened), trying to prove a point to Katara, but she was clearly not going to help him. His gaze then moved to Azami, who just looked at him in disbelief before she started laughing at him.
"Fat chance, Sokka," she laughed. "You'd have better luck asking Appa to do it for you."
Sokka grumbled, but before he could get any other words out Aang spoke up. "Relax, Sokka. Where we're going, you won't need any pants."
Azami's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"
Fortunately, Aang meant something entirely different to what she had been fearing, which she was immeasurably grateful for. Within a few hours, the gaang had found themselves landing on a crescent-shaped island, near a beach surrounded by trees.
Sokka seemed a little irritated by Aang's decision to make yet another stop, and Azami was feeling much the same at this point. "We just made a pit stop yesterday," Sokka complained. "Shouldn't we get more flying done before we camp?"
"He's right," Katara agreed. "At this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring."
"But Appa's tired already," Aang insisted. "Aren't you, boy?"
Appa just stood there, barely making a sound. Growing a little more insistent, Aang gently elbowed the bison. "I said, aren't you, boy?"
Appa let out a low yawn, and Azami rolled her eyes at the young airbender. "Sure. Real convincing, Aang."
Aang looked a little sheepish. "Still," Sokka shrugged. "Hard to argue with a ten-ton magical monster."
Azami sighed. "Guess I'll get camp set up, you guys go have fun." As Aang ran into the ocean with the water tribe siblings watching him, Azami started to unload the group's supplies.
As she was getting a tent set up, she heard a rustle from the nearby forest. Her eyes narrowing, she glanced up, feeling a growing sense of unease as she felt like she was being watched. Before long, though, she saw some small creature running through the trees, and she relaxed slightly.
Deciding it was no big deal, she gathered some dead branches from nearby and brought them back to the campsite, a quick blast from her fingers lighting the fire.
"No, Appa! Spit it out!" Katara yelled from nearby. Looking over, Azami saw that Appa was trying to eat a bushel of Maka'ole berries. Panicked, Azami ran over to help Katara drag them out of the bison's mouth.
"Are you crazy Appa? Those things cause blindness, you can't eat those!" Azami scolded the bison. Fortunately, he seemed to get the message. "So how's Aang doing with the elephant koi?"
Katara had a bit of a dreamy look on her face. "He's amazing at it! You gotta come watch!"
Azami giggled, recognizing the signs of a growing crush on Katara's face. "Sure, the camp's set up anyways." Running over to the beach, they saw Sokka panicking as Aang was riding a giant fish.
"What's wrong?" Katara asked him, concerned.
"Aang's in trouble, Aang!" Sokka yelled.
Looking over, Azami's eyes grew wide as she saw a massive shadow approaching behind Aang. "Aang! Get out of there!"
The three waved their arms, trying to get him to return to shore, but he seemed to think they were only cheering him on. Suddenly, the Koi fish disappeared under the surface, and Aang went flying off into the water. As a giant fin appeared next to him, he began running as fast as he could on top of the water.
The creature chased him all the way back to shore. Good news - Aang made it back. Bad news - he barreled straight into Sokka, knocking him into a nearby tree. Katara and Azami quickly ran over as Aang started to put his clothes back on.
"What was that thing?" Katara gasped.
Aang seemed more than a little twitchy after being nearly eaten. "I don't know."
"Well, let's not stick around to find out," Sokka reasoned. "Let's head back to camp for a bit, and then it's time to hit the road."
As it turned out, the universe had other plans for them, as they were suddenly ambushed by a group of girls wearing heavy makeup. Before any of them could react, they had all been tied up with ropes and blindfolded. Deciding against using her firebending in front of complete strangers, Azami let them lead the group away.
A few minutes later, the four had been tied to a wooden pole. "You four have some explaining to do," a nearby male voice said.
Another voice spoke up, this one female. "And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the Unagi."
"Show yourselves, cowards!" Sokka challenged. Azami heard some shuffling nearby, but her blindfold hadn't been taken off. "Who are you?" Sokka continued. "Where are the men who ambushed us?"
"There were no men," the female voice snapped back. "We ambushed you. Now tell us, who are you and what are you doing here?"
"Wait a second," Sokka scoffed. "There's no way a bunch of girls took us down."
"Really Sokka!" Azami snapped, infuriated by the teenager. "Now is not a great time for your sexist comments!"
Apparently, the other girl shared the sentiment. "A bunch of girls, huh? The Unagi's gonna eat well tonight."
"No, don't hurt him!" Katara pleaded. "He didn't mean it. My brother's just an idiot sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Azami scoffed. The only response she got was a kick in the shin, presumably from Sokka.
"It's my fault," Aang finally spoke up. "I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi."
"How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies?" the first male voice responded. "According to Suki here, that one was seen starting a fire with bending. Kyoshi has stayed out of the war so far, and we intend to keep it that way."
Before Azami had a chance to respond, Aang had already started talking excitedly. "This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!"
The man scoffed at him. "How could you possibly know her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries."
"I know her," Aang responded slowly, "because I'm the Avatar."
"That's impossible!" the girl (who Azami presumed was Suki) snapped. "The last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago."
"That's me," Aang replied happily.
"Throw the impostor to the Unagi," the man ordered.
Azami turned her head in the direction of Aang's voice, though she was still unable to see. "Aang, would you do some airbending already?"
Apparently she had convinced him, because she heard a light whoosh, which was quickly followed by gasps. "It's true," the man breathed out in awe. "You are the Avatar!"
"Now, check THIS out!" Aang responded in a goofy voice. Azami couldn't see, but something told her he was pulling the same trick he tried showing Katara earlier. Within seconds, there were cheers coming from a host of people nearby.
She heard a little more shuffling nearby, but she remained tied to the pole and blindfolded. Growing impatient, she finally snapped at the nearby group. "Uh, hello? Can you let me go now?"
"No firebenders are allowed on Kyoshi," the man snapped. "Consider yourself lucky we haven't thrown you to the Unagi."
"But I'm with the Avatar!" she protested.
"Sir, if I may?" she heard Aang reason with the man. "It's a little hard to explain, but we were both trapped in an iceberg for over a hundred years, since before the war even started, and she's my firebending teacher. I'll vouch for her."
She heard the man sigh. "Very well," he muttered, and soon Azami felt the blindfold finally being taken off and the ropes undone. "But it is forbidden from bending here, is that understood?"
She frowned. Did this man seriously just call her it? "Fine," she spat. "And for the record, she has a name." The man just glared at her, before walking up to the village. Azami sighed, knowing she'd probably have to get used to this kind of a welcome everywhere.
The next morning, the gaang were relaxing in the room they had been given to stay at, a massive array of sweets laid out before them. "All right!" Aang cheered. "Dessert for breakfast! These people sure know how to treat an Avatar. Katara, you've gotta try these."
"Well, maybe just a bite," she smiled at him. Azami was busying herself with eating as well, trying to taker her mind off of the previous day's events. Meanwhile, Sokka was lying against the wall, his arms crossed as he pouted.
"Sokka! What's your problem? Eat!" Aang insisted.
"Not hungry," Sokka grumbled.
Aang just looked beyond confused. "But you're always hungry!"
Azami just smirked over at Sokka. "Don't worry, Aang. He's just pouting because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday."
Sokka immediately flushed as he glared at Azami. "They snuck up on me!"
"Right," Katara smirked. "And then they kicked your butt."
Sokka immediately got up. "Sneak attacks don't count!" he protested. "Tie me up with ropes. I'll show them a thing or two!"
As he walked out, Azami quickly got up to follow him. "Where are you going?" Aang asked.
She looked over at him briefly, grinning like her birthday had come early. "He's gonna get beaten to a pulp, and there is absolutely no way I'm going to miss that. See you later!" She quickly ran out, following Sokka as he headed up to the large building at the top of the village.
She followed just far enough behind him to hear his muttering. "I'm not scared of any girls," he insisted. "Who do they think they are, anyway? I can't believe I got beat up by a bunch of girls."
He finally arrived, peeking in from beside the doorway to watch the Kyoshi warriors training. Azami smirked, before reaching out to poke his shoulder. Sokka screamed as he jumped, turning to face her.
"You know it's rude to spy on girls, right Sokka?" Azami grinned.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed.
She giggled slightly at how serious he was being. "Just came to watch the show."
Sokka just rolled his eyes, before he turned back to enter the training building, Azami following behind him. The warriors were clearly in the middle of some routine, which obviously meant Sokka treated it like a joke. "Sorry, ladies," he announced in a condescending voice. "Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson. I was looking for somewhere to get a workout."
Azami leaned against the doorframe, sending Suki a knowing look. She glanced at Azami for a moment, before facing the boy. "Well, you're in the right place. Sorry about yesterday, I didn't know you were friends with the Avatar."
"It's alright," he replied. "I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls I'll make an exception." Azami glared at the back of his head, unable to believe that this stuff was actually coming out of his mouth.
Suki smirked over at Azami for a moment, before turning back to Sokka with a flirty look. "I should hope so. A big, strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance."
Sokka rolled his head, stretching his muscles. "True, but don't feel bad. After all, I'm the best warrior in my village." And the only warrior, Azami thought to herself.
"Wow, best warrior, huh?" Suki responded, sounding amazed. "In your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration." Azami grinned - she knew how this was going to turn out. Hopefully.
"Oh," Sokka's voice squeaked. "Well, I mean I-"
"Come on, girls!" Suki insisted. "Wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?" The girls, including Azami, giggled in response.
"Well, if that's what you want, I'd be happy to," Sokka replied, walking over to Suki. "All right, you stand over there. Now, this may be a little tough, but try to block me.
Sokka went in for what had to be the lamest punch Azami had ever seen, and Suki just stuck her fan into his arm, causing Sokka to yelp slightly. "Good," he said nervously. "Of course, I was going easy on you."
"Of course," Suki agreed.
"Let's see if you can handle this!" Sokka went to kick her, and Suki just ducked beneath his leg and threw him in the air, causing him to land on his back. Sokka got up, scowling. "That does it!"
He ran towards her as Suki grabbed his arm, pulling him around in a circle several times, before untying his belt and wrapping it around his wrist and his ankle, tripping him. Sokka fell face first onto the floor, and Azami just laughed, clutching her stomach.
"Anything else you want to teach us?" Suki smirked. Sokka quickly dragged himself up to his remaining foot and he hopped outside, still tied up. Azami just stepped out of the way, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes as she kept laughing.
Suki giggled slightly before walking over to the princess. "I see you're enjoying yourself," she smiled.
Azami bit her tongue for a few seconds, stopping her laughter, before she replied. "Oh, man, I've been waiting for that for weeks now. Remind me to bring him here next time he asks me to sew."
Suki smiled, before her expression turned somber. "I feel I owe you an apology as well. I saw you use firebending, and I assumed you were just like everyone else from the Fire Nation."
Azami's face fell, seeming downcast, before a small smile grazed her features. "It's alright. I'm still not used to the way firebenders are seen, so I guess I just have to get used to it," she sighed.
Suki appeared thoughtful for a moment, before her face brightened. "Would you like to train with us? We don't normally teach outsiders, but I think we can make an exception."
Azami smiled at her in response, before quickly bowing. "I'd be honored."
A/N; yea, bit of a boring chapter I know. Honestly I'm just trying to get through these first few episodes, so bear with me. I'm planning to have more variation from the show as the story progresses, as I'm sure you guys aren't particularly interested in reading the exact 1/1 dialogue. Once we reach Bumi that'll hopefully start to change.
Also, I'm thinking about skipping episodes like Imprisoned where Azami will have little to no impact on the plot, thoughts?