Waking up early in the morning, Azula was far from being in the best mood. She had not managed to get enough sleep the previous night. The culprit was Yoaru, who had decided to wake her up right in the middle of the night. Stretching and yawning in a not-very-elegant manner, she surveyed her tent with a sleepy gaze. Her informal lover was nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, he was not obliged to report to her and never forgot to remind her of this, but having known him for quite some time now, she expected to see him nearby as soon as she woke up. Yoaru would not have missed the opportunity to joke and assure her that he was fine, and besides, discussing their future plans with the new information from the library would be beneficial for both of them. The princess did not allow herself to ponder the matter for long, quickly finding a satisfactory answer. Surely her well-known spirit had lingered in the mythical library after all. Perhaps he found something interesting and lost track of time. However, her further thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps towards her quarters.
— My Lady, dawn, — the soldier who entered the tent reported, looking straight ahead and not at the female body covered by the blanket. However, Azula did not care where he was looking; shyness was not in her character.
— Dismissed.
— Yes, My Lady! — punching his fist to his chest, the soldier left her alone.
Stretching once more, the princess began to dress. She was quite tired of this inspection, but once she took on a task, she always finished it perfectly. Unnecessary thoughts only distracted her from the tasks at hand. Fortunately for Azula, this inspection game would end very soon. There were only a few more points to inspect, and she would be back on her ship far out at sea. Putting on her armor, the girl left the tent to command the soldiers who had been roused. Warm-up, mealtime, minimal hygiene procedures… and other trifles. The princess watched all this from the side; even the simplest officers could command the soldiers for such banalities. Watching all this routine, the girl noticed that her friend from the circus was turning her head too often, examining the skies.
— Ty Lee, — the princess called her friend, moving away from the rest of the people in the camp.
The acrobat immediately hopped after the princess, professionally performing half a dozen fierce somersaults.
— Good morning, Azula.
— Morning. I want to tell you that he will not be here for some time; you do not have to look so actively. People will think you are too flighty and constantly have your head in the clouds, — Azula spoke about the matter quietly, so that unwanted ears would not hear anything.
— Oh, he did not warn me about anything, — the girl was slightly upset, instantly realizing who she was talking about, — and where did he go? And for how long?
— He asked me to tell you this. You know, now is not the time to talk about it. Yoaru will catch up with us; I am not going to delay the route for his sake. Clean yourself up, and get ready to leave with everyone, — the princess commanded in a dominant tone, slightly lying.
— Yes, Princess My Lady, — performing a curtsey and a playful bow, Ty Lee hurried back to her duties.
"Why did I cover for him?" — however, Azula did not allow herself to reflect on her strange actions for long. Satisfying herself with the thought that she simply did not want to worry her best friend unnecessarily, she returned to her duties.
Soon, the squad set out, moving at its usual speed. The entire day passed as usual for the soldiers. The squad continued to follow the long-established route. Azula was not too worried about Yoaru; the spirit had disappeared for a day or even two before, although the latter was rare. The need to replenish some spiritual energy required their frequent and regular meetings. The princess was sure that her lover would appear soon, literally in a minute, or right this minute… but it did not happen.
Yoaru did not appear after an hour, nor after two, nor even after a day. The squad traveled in its usual manner for two days, sticking to the plan, and Yoaru still had not appeared. And this was already a reason to start worrying. He had never disappeared for so long before. No, Azula knew, or wanted to believe, that he was fine. He was strong and could take care of himself, but a worry lingered in her chest. And if the princess had the willpower to control her emotions, not allowing them to show on her face, Ty Lee began to worry greatly.
On the very first night, they discussed everything possible about his absence. Azula told her friend where and why their close acquaintance had gone, and was able to calm her down, easily convincing her that he was fine and that he would definitely return. However, Yoaru did not return, not after a day, nor after two.
After a few days, Azula herself began to suspect that something was wrong. Ty Lee only added fuel to the fire of her feelings and anxieties. Every evening they met and talked about him.
— Azula, he did not come back, did he? — the acrobat started immediately, as soon as they were alone late one evening.
— Lee, I will definitely let you know as soon as he appears, — Azula replied in a tired voice.
— I know, but you did not hurt his feelings, did you? He could not have gotten offended and left us?
— Lee… — the princess drew out in a displeased voice, then let out a long exhale, releasing the accumulated tension. — No, I already told you how he left. Stop worrying about what we cannot influence; and we absolutely cannot influence this in any way. All we can do is resign ourselves and hope for the best outcome, while preparing for the worst.
— You sound just like Yoaru, — the acrobat remarked with a sad smile. Remembering the spirit was painful; worry overwhelmed the kindhearted girl's heart.
— Hmm, — the princess frowned unhappily; she did not like the comparison. — It is late. Soon there will be lights out. If you want to say something, say it, or we will leave it for tomorrow.
— Well… — the acrobat hesitated, looking away shyly and folding her hands. — There is something I would like to ask.
Such behavior immediately interested Azula. Her friend rarely got embarrassed, especially so demonstratively.
— Interesting. Speak.
— You see, I am a bit worried about Yoaru, and you always find the right words that calm me down. Even the soldiers have noticed a change in me; they say I often look sad, staring at the sky. I smile at them, tell them everything is fine, but… perhaps I am just not good enough at pretending. Can I sleep next to you? — Ty Lee spoke frankly, looking at Azula with a gaze full of great hope.
Even the princess's icy heart could not resist this.
— If it will make you calmer, fine.
— Thank you! And yes, can Mai be with us too?
— Mai? — surprised, — what is wrong with her?
— Nothing is wrong, I just do not want to leave her alone. You see, the men in the squad have not seen their wives in a long time, and some do not have them at all. As friends, we cannot allow our Mai to suffer from their excessive attention. No! Do not think anything wrong; they are nice and kind, but too persistent, — the girl waved her hands, seeing Azula's eyes flash angrily.
— Hmm, all right. I will give the order. Starting tonight, both of you can sleep in my tent, — Azula replied after a brief consideration.
— Thank you, thank you, thank you, you are the best friend in the world, — the acrobat immediately rushed to hug the princess, expressing her gratitude right into her ear.
— Ugh, — Azula winced at the loudness of the words, but nevertheless did not rush to break free from the tight embrace. On the contrary, her hands began to gently stroke the girl's back.
Soon, after talking a little more, the friends separated.
The princess spent the remaining time before lights out pondering her feelings for Ty Lee. Of course, due to Yoaru's persistence, she had already sorted out her feelings a long time ago. Or perhaps she just thought she had sorted them out… Now Azula was forced to admit that in her friend's presence, she felt calmer and more confident. All unnecessary worries receded into the background as soon as the acrobat spoke. Before, this was not very noticeable, but due to the disappearance of the spirit, whom she had already grown very accustomed to, she felt uncomfortable, and Ty Lee helped perfectly cope with these changes. Sharing one tent seemed like a wonderful solution. They had shared one room before; no one found anything strange about it. Everyone knew that the girls were the princess's closest confidantes.
However, Azula herself did not suspect what she was bringing upon herself. No, the worries and cold nights of complete solitude disappeared from the princess's life, just as the bad thoughts and guesses about Yoaru's possible betrayal and departure on his own initiative disappeared, but all this was replaced by something else…
— Do not worry, he is fine; he can take care of himself, — Azula whispered, comforting her friend as they talked before bed.
— How can I not worry? What if right now, someone is hurting him and doing something bad to him? What if he never comes back? What if he is dead? — Ty Lee's quiet and anxious voice answered the princess.
But then a third, neutral and absolutely calm party intervened in the conversation — Mai.
— Did I just hear that correctly? I cannot even imagine who could hurt a spirit, let alone kill one.
— Who? Other spirits, of course!
— Logical, — Mai acknowledged the acrobat's correctness, remaining, as usual, indifferent to everything.
— It is late. Tomorrow we will arrive in the city and begin the inspection; go to sleep, — Azula reminded them of the time in a strict voice.
— Sorry, I just cannot stop thinking about it. Good night, Azula, Mai, — after wishing each other good night, the girls fell silent.
Both Azula and Ty Lee eagerly awaited Yoaru's return, and both were worried about it. And if one was accustomed to hiding her feelings, the other fully displayed them to such trusted people as her close friends. And this only brought the girls closer together. Mai did not become a black sheep in their group. No, even though she maintained a neutral position, it was precisely her unbiased opinion that helped the princess calm her friend. At the same time, it was her presence that stalled the development of the relationship between the princess and the acrobat. However, this did not always work out.
Time continued to slip through their fingers. Days passed one after another, and Yoaru still did not appear. Hope for his return diminished with each passing day. Azula's dark thoughts were restrained solely by Ty Lee's optimism and kindness. Perhaps he betrayed her, perhaps he left forever, or perhaps he was eaten by another spirit. For each such outcome, she tried to come up with her own plan of action, because if Yoaru was to be believed, the Avatar would definitely return. And that was a threat on the scale of the entire nation. However, hope had not died completely yet, and the girl wished in her heart for the speedy return of her lover, and she was not the only one who wanted it. The acrobat did not stop talking about him at least once a day; the girl had grown very attached to the spirit, which made the princess catch herself feeling a certain form of envy mixed with jealousy. But it was impossible to be angry or offended at Ty Lee.
After one day of inspection in another city, the girls decided to continue sleeping in the same room. Two of them were afraid to be alone with their thoughts and fears, and Mai was not against such an outcome. The long conversations before bed were not so terrible, but the topics quickly became tiresome. Both Azula and Ty Lee had talked about Yoaru quite often over the past week, rarely discussing training, or anything interesting that happened during the day, or what they saw in the new city. Most often, the girls liked to discuss local delicacies or sweets, right after they remembered Yoaru and stopped talking about work, inspection, training, or the latest news.
This evening was no different from the others; the girls, as usual, spoke quietly before bed on their usual topics, but it was this evening that Mai decided to express her opinion about everything that had happened.
— I could not help but notice a certain strangeness. You talk about Yoaru too often, and think about him even more, — Mai took the lead in the conversation, sensing the right moment when Azula and Ty Lee began to guess the reasons for the spirit's disappearance again.
— Mai, you are cruel! Yoaru, he is my… our close friend, — Ty Lee immediately protested, slightly stumbling.
— No. I just do not understand how you can worry so much about a vanished spirit? Your life does not end because of this. Lately, you only talk about him, and it is strange, — Mai expressed her observations in a calm voice full of rationality, reflecting to herself on how close Yoaru had managed to get to her friends before mysteriously disappearing.
— You only say that because you do not know him. If you had the opportunity to see and hear him, you would not be so cold!
— Perhaps, but what you do not have, you do not have. You know, right now you sound just like a girl deeply in love, waiting for her sailor who went out to sea, — Mai continued, maintaining her composure.
— And is that a bad thing? That I am waiting for him? That I am worried and anxious about him? That I feel emotions and am not afraid to show them? — Lee answered her in an uncharacteristically aggressive manner.
— I do not think so, but you have to be realistic. What will you do if he never returns? And it does not matter for what reason. He just takes off and does not come back. Has that thought never crossed your mind?
— I push them away, hoping for the best, — Ty Lee admitted honestly, understanding the painful truth.
— I think that is enough talk for tonight. We really are remembering Yoaru too much. We got used to the presence of that insolent person, — the voice of the previously silent Azula was heard in the absolute darkness.
— If I were you, I would be happy. Were you not bothered that he could be watching you at any moment? — the eternally calm girl decided to inquire one last time.
— Mai, Yoaru is not like that! You are a spiteful grouch!
— You would know best, Lee. You are well acquainted with him.
— That is enough talk. We are sleeping. Good night, everyone, — Azula cut short the budding argument, ordering them to go to bed.
After wishing each other long and pleasant dreams, the girls fell silent, deciding not to provoke the princess with their disobedience.
The absolute silence and complete darkness did not invite sleep that evening. Thoughts tormented Azula's mind, preventing her from drifting off to the land of dreams. Mai's words, although directed at her friend, meant she felt almost the same way as Ty Lee. And her friend's words could also describe Azula herself. Realizing this fact, the princess could not help but think about Yoaru, about a possible future, both with him and without him. Perhaps what she felt for the incorporeal man was not just the needs of the body and slight passion, but something more. Although their acquaintance did not get off to a good start, and for a long time they made each other's lives miserable, over time, she got to know him better and more intimately, and he, in turn, got to know her. Respect and acknowledgment—Azula undoubtedly felt that for him, just as he felt it for her. But… love? Was there love between them? The princess did not know the answer.
Time passed, but sleep still did not want to come to the blue flame bender. This continued until the needs of the body reminded her of themselves. Azula wanted to visit the restroom. Quietly getting out of her bed, she left the room with silent steps to the quiet breathing of her friends. She did not need to get dressed; her night robe was always on the girl. Adjusting her clothes, she glided down the dark corridors of the manor straight to the restroom.
However, after finishing her business in the restroom, she was not in a hurry to return to bed. Stopping by the nearest window, the girl opened it, exposing her face to the cold night wind. Feeling the calming coolness, she decided to linger a little and breathe the fresh air. The wind caressed her hair, carrying away unnecessary thoughts and worries. This felt pleasant and somewhat novel; Azula had never allowed herself such meaningless actions before, finding them a waste of time. Now… such a small thing brought peace.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes with pleasure, surveying the night street. Down there, her soldiers patrolled the roads, warding off passersby and drunk people. She did not care about them; Azula simply enjoyed the cool night air of the city. She continued to breathe and enjoy the peace and quiet until her ear, trained by Master Piandao, heard another heartbeat and quiet footsteps. Turning around, she instantly tensed and prepared for a fight as soon as her eyes saw a silhouette approaching from the darkness.
"No, Yoaru does not have a heartbeat, let alone the sound of footsteps," — Azula instantly killed the flicker of hope within her, carefully watching the slowly approaching unknown person.