Azula: the New Avatar

9 - Training

"Come on Azula, you can do it," Aang encouraged. Azula was having trouble getting her airbending down, and her frustration was starting to affect her performance. She'd gotten the motions down within her first couple of attempts, but the results were never more than a moderate breeze. "Try to imagine yourself being released from all tethers, focus on the feeling of freedom. Remember how it felt when you did it on accident."

"I was a little preoccupied with an arrow aimed at my chest and an assassin that saw me airbending," she snapped. She took a deep breath. She remembered how liberating it felt when she was finally free from her father, but still, nothing. Perhaps her issue was that she equated "freedom" with "power", and power was a defining characteristic of fire, not air. The most frustrating part, though, was her ability to feel the currents; she felt the air flow around her, but she couldn't control it.

"Um, excuse me," Sokka spoke up from the side, sounding slightly uncomfortable. This was the first time he'd spoken since berating Katara and Aang once they finally arrived. "I have an idea. Why don't you try to imagine how it must feel like to be Ty Lee? Her flexibility and acrobatics are pretty similar to airbending." Azula's eyebrows furrowed, and she glanced at her friend. Ty Lee still had her usual bubbly smile on, but something was... off. Considering how close the acrobat usually kept her cards to her chest, the fact that she could see something was wrong meant it might be serious.

Unfortunately, now was not the time to confront her about it. Not only did they have an audience, she needed to get those airbending moves down! "You should try it, Azula!" Ty Lee said. "It couldn't hurt."

Azula nodded and closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing. At least it was similar to firebending in that sense; the other two would be much more foreign. She tried to imagine what it might feel like to be in her friend's mind, without a care in the world and never hesitating to change directions to the path of least resistance.

Azula had an unstoppable ambition combined with dangerous cunning and intelligence, but ambition had no place within the air nation. And, she was realizing, she couldn't master airbending without accepting the tenets of the air nation as a part of her. Ty Lee, unlike her, followed freedom, untethered from expectations or connections of any kind in the circus. 

She couldn't focus on the goal, on what she was trying to accomplish via her bending. To successfully airbend, she had to live in the moment and focus on the joy of freedom rather than the path she must take. Air doesn't have a path; the world and all of its possibilities were open to her.

She felt her skin tingle as air began to flow around her more excitedly, and, without opening her eyes, she leapt to her feet and flipped sideways, swinging her foot into a smooth, flexible kick and letting the unending energy of the air loose. A powerful arc of wind sliced through the air and slammed into a tree, shattering the trunk unexpectedly easily.

"Remember to be careful," Aang said, sounding excited but also upset. "Airbending isn't meant to cause destruction or death, so try not to kill anymore trees."

Opening her eyes, Azula bowed respectfully to her teacher. "Yes, Sifu Aang." She could see what he meant. The power that coursed through her while airbending wasn't the same destructive force as fire was; it was exciting, thrilling, but peaceful. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but it also felt more powerful than firebending. There was more raw power, but less purpose and determination.

"It feels... flighty," Azula said, staring at her hands. "It's not as solid as firebending, not as dependable, but it's also more versatile. It's strange."

"Of course," Zuko said from the side, rolling his eyes playfully. "Of course she can airbend after less than an hour of practice. Welcome to Azula's life."