ᖴᖇOᗰ ᕼEᒪᒪ TO ᕼᗩᐯEᑎ

🔹ｎｉｎｅ🔹

The small campfire flickered in front of the siblings as they sat facing each other at the outskirts of the Fire nation capital.  Two days ago they had exited the city and were now crossing the countryside.
The area was spacious and aired, thus the night was freezing.
Thankfully both the sibling were Master Firebenders and could modulate their body heat.

Azula scowled as she etched closer to the fire to view the papers in her hands. Before leaving the palace, she had stuffed the side of her boots with secret layouts of the fire nation capital and other plans her father had hidden. Those papers were the only thing giving them a particular goal.
Zuko had tried to read them but Azula had prohibited him too, it couldn't be any more obvious that she considered the data of those papers above Zuko's knowledge bar.

That made Zuko annoyed. After all, she was supposed to be the YOUNGER one here, wasn't she? Yet here she was, treating him as an inferior.

Azula cursed under her breath as she remained unable to decipher the information etched on those papers. It was in some sort of code that needed to be interpreted. Each paper had a different pattern, so far Azula had figured out five of them. However, all those paper held was details about the breach in the Capital city.

A name still resonated in the back of her mind, acting as an itch she was unable to scratch. It was irritating.

Scowling Azula folded the papers and tucked them in her waist carefully.
She signed a breath of relaxation and layed down flat on her back, looking up at the stars.

Zephyr.
That name.

Why did it bother her that much?

Why was that name so important? So important that her subconsciousness begged her to remember?

She groaned and closed her eyes.

Zuko watched her as she frowned, her eyes shut tightly, deep in thought.

"Azula?" He spoke.

She opened her eyes and turned her head slightly to face him in response, her body still laying on the grass.

"Why do you want to go to Ba - Sing - Se ?"

"Well, why not?"

Zuko blinked, surprised.

Azula chuckled and responded," You were always slow in all this strategic thinking stuff weren't you Zuzu?"

"Was not."

"Sure, whatever. Although I have many reasons to go to Ba- Sing - Se. One, It is one of the most major metropolitical cities in one of the largest and strongest empires the world has ever seen. Two, we will need some sort of political support to deal with this matter, the king ought to come in handy at that time, don't he? Third, I have acquaintances there. Four, Your Avatar pal said he was going there. Five, he went there with his 'mother rather than girlfriend' of a girlfriend due to numerous assassination attacks being reported. Thus someone is targeting the Earth King. Somehow, these two incidents seem to be connected. Do you need any more reasons?"

Again, Zuko was rendered speechless by the efficiency of Azula's thinking.

"I'm thinking about visiting Culann. He would be a huge help, considering how he works hidden from the law and how efficient his gear is. Also, Lashay could give blueprints of the Earthkingdom for the few favors she owes me. Maybe I could ask her to provide a few fighters for small earned too. And-"

"What, who are you even talking about?"
Zuko interrupted his sister's course.

" Ah, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you." Azula chuckled. " Remember the time I broke out of the Asylum and then later I broke out of prison?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well, I became fairly social towards some lower-class people at that time."

"What? Do you mean to say you made FREINDS?"

"No, I made allies. Freinds are...... Useless."

A shadow spread across Azula's face as she spoke, her mind replaying Mai's words.

' I love Zuko more than I fear you.'

She winced internally.

Why did it hurt so much? Why? Maybe it was because it was the exact same thing her mother portrayed towards her, or maybe it was the unfairity of the situation. It hurt regardless of the reasons.

Azula rolled on her side and faced her brother.

"Zuzu, How do you gain trust?

The question momentarily surprised Zuko. It was as if an innocent child had asked a question that actually had great depth. Innocence truly was a wondrous thing, and, surprisingly, it seemed Azula had it too.

"I-I don't know how to answer that question."

"Well, you made the other nations trust the fire nation and forgive them, didn't you ?"

"Yeah."

"How'd you do it?"

There was a drop of pleading in her voice as she asked him the question. A hint of desperation.

Zuko gazed at her. It was funny to think she didn't know things like trust, but then again, she was never taught them.

" Trust is a risky thing, it should be handled with care and precaution. Once gone it is almost impossible to regain. In things like trust, someone has to be the bigger person and risk their necks to provide trust on a mutual basis. I offered to step in deep water first and provided support to stabilize the falling nations, thus they started trusting me. I discussed all the military plans with the joint council and began to open up, thus I started getting some privacy, and eventually, they were also trusting me."

Azula reflected on these things. Her brother sure was a people person.

She chuckled.

"For the record, Zuzu, you did a fairly good job with the fire nation."She spoke, turning her back towards him and lying down on her other side.

Zuko almost choked on the water he was gulping down, after all, it's not every day your war-criminal, slightly mentally unstable sister complimented you.
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