#atla:au

[1006muses]

“ do you think..” the earthbender squints at the plant before him, his stomach growls, was saving the world worth him not eating properly? he wasn’t too sure at this point. “ do you think i’ll die if i eat this?” 

[salixj]

So someone answered my call for fic ideas. I have a few now, and here is one, via slouchingtowardbethlehem

What if Azula was born a non-bender and couldn’t Firebend at all?

It isn’t finished yet, I hope to complete it later. Rosh Hashanah and work are getting in the way. Under the cut.

Training had been in the fifth environment, abandoned village. There were mockups of old buildings in various states of ruin, trees and a well. Azula stepped into the arena, slowly inhaling and exhaling while she seized up the area. From the corner of her eye she saw the slightest of movement. She allowed her eyes to slide away, as if attracted to some other area.

"One, two ..." she counted to herself.

SWOOSH! A jet of flame burst out at her, Azula ducked, rolled coming up, sprang to her feet with a quick movement, coming up right beside the "enemy's" pitching hand, bringing her own hand down in a sharp cutting motion against his arm, while snapping her foot against his shin, then a quick jab against his chest.

"DEAD!" Master Inoue exclaimed, but there was no time for celebration; out from behind a tree came a blast of water while someone out of sight in a building "bent" the earth below her. She allowed the earth to push her upwards, used its force to help her jump, landng this time behind the water bender. A quick jab and the man was down, chi blocked from the neck down. A swift swing of her hand and the earth bender was down as well. Hua Yan stepped out of the building holding the "knife" in his hand. A trail of fake blood dripped from his neck. "How?" he asked, but she hadn't time to answer; two more firebenders were trying to turn her to ash. But in the end they were no match.

"Near flawless demonstration", Li, or Lo purred. "Just one blow landed," said the other.

"If it had been perfect it wouldn't have mattered," Azula thought to herself.

"I shall send a glowing report to your father," Master Inoue chirped.

"And father will barely give it a glance." Azula bowed low, and walked out of the room. “Not a firebender, not important. Well, at least she'd have a chance to relax in the spa.” And … She paused a moment by the room in which her brother was training. There was a grunt, the sound of wood against flesh and her brother's shriek of pain followed by Master Himura's screeching "NO! Do you think you can walk into a fight and ask them to wait while you get ready?"  “At least there was that.” She may have been a failure by birth, but Zuko was a failure by life. “Lose on dear brother, lose on.” From the room came another shriek, as once again, her brother, her brother messed up .

Azula continued on to the spa.

No longer a sound sleeper Azula was awake and aware before the intruder had taken two steps into her bedroom. Carefully she removed the knife she kept hidden between the mattress and the platform.

“It's just me” Zuko hissed.  He formed a curl of flame in his hand and held it to his face. “No need to kill me.”

No purpose, more like it. Her best bet was to keep Zuko on her side.  Power behind the throne as well. Besides, in a certain she did have a certain fondness for him, in the lost-puppy dog kind of way.

“What are you doing here ...” Azula cast a glance out the window “In the middle of the night?” She slipped out of bed toward him and stared at his face. He had been hurt badly.  “Zuko don't you know how to absorb yet?” She fingered the burn. Zuko shoved away her hand.

“I've come to tell you goodbye!”  Azula looked at him more carefully. He was wearing his warriors regalia. “Where are you going?” “I'm going to establish my honor before Father and the Nation,” he announced. lifting his head high and staring down at her. A bit on the difficult side as they were nearly the same height; though he was finally gaining on her. Two years ago she had been slightly taller than he was; but then at age 14 he started to shoot up, inches in months it would seem.

“What are you going to do? ” she scoffed, circling around him to her vanity. She picked up her brush, took the band out of her hair and began to brush it. “Find the Avatar?”

“Yes!” he affirmed.

“WHAT?” Azula dropped the brush and came back over to him. “Are you insane? You've as much chance of finding the Avatar as finding mother.” That she shouldn't have said. Zuko's mouth curled up and damn it if he wasn't about to cry! “Zuko they are both dead.” “What if she wasn't though Azula, you miss her too, I know it.”

Yes, no, maybe.  Azula crossed her arms and stared at the ground. She had been a sound sleeper back then, but something had woken her that night. She saw her mother in the hall, followed her to her brother's room.  Her mother bent over her brother, kissed him. Zuko woke. “I love you Zuko” her mother had said, and embraced him. Then her mother had turned to leave. She had run back to her room. She was awake when the maids came to bring her the “sad' news. Her grandfather was dead, her mother gone. Her father was Firelord.

“What ifs aren't a sound basis for making a suggestion. “Mother must be dead.” “But what if she isn't? And what if the Avatar is alive? The sages seem to think so.” “The sages!” Azula sat down on her bed. “If the sages were half as smart as they pretend to be either you would have my skills or I would have your Firebending; isn't that what was predicted? A mighty Ruler from Father and Mother's union? Look at us!” She sighed, rose and placed a hand on either of his shoulders. “Face it brother. The sages aren't so wise.”

“Then why is Father sending me on this mission?” He said.

For a moment she believed him. But his eyes had shifted past her.

“LIAR!” “Azula I have to do this,” he begged her. “Please don't stand in my way.”

Azula covered her eyes with her hands. He couldn't succeed on the mission alone and no one was foolish enough to follow her brother without their say so. He'd bring ruin to the nation.

Tell father and he would have Zuko confined to his room, most likely, as so often happened, take all his anger at Zuko out on her. Find someway to blame her for his actions.

“I'll find the Avatar, bring him back. Prove I'm worthy for the throne.” Her brother began to pace the room, gesturing wildly.

“Keep your voice down! My maids are in the next room.” He was such an idiot.

Maybe their father would kill Zuko,  just as (she was fairly certain) he had killed their grandfather.. What part her mother played in that she still didn't know. With Zuko gone what would happen to her then? She'd be married off to some Firebender high enough and closely enough connected to tlhe throne that one of their children could become Firelord.  Might be what her father was planning for her anyway, and a better fate than simply waiting for her brother to become Firelord.

“I'll force the Avatar to do my bidding,” Zuko ranted on . “We'll take the last of the lands for our nation.” Once Ba Se Sing had fallen to her Uncle most of the Earth Kingdoms had bowed. There was resistance, a large, amorphous group headed by a creature called “The Blind Bandit” . Their father had sent Uncle Boiling Teapot after them.

“The world will bow at my feet!” Zuko raised his fist into the air.

Oh he was definitely going to get himself killed. By the resistance most likely.

“Father will look at me with pride.”

Let him go, let him get killed. She'd get married off rather quickly, probably to Han In-Su. Strong bender, egotistical, rather stupid, easily controllable. At least she'd have the chance of being mother to the throne.

“My image will be raised in statues everywhere!”

Unless Iroh had her father killed first. Iroh, she suspected, was trying to have their father killed – there had been several assassination attempts, which was one of the reasons her father had him sent off to find the Blind Bandit.

“Just keep my secret, and I'll remember what you did for me,” he added magnanimously.

No heir to the throne and Iroh would have even more reason to kill off her father in an Agni Kai. He'd remarry. Or if her father won he'd remarry. Whichever, they'd have her killed. Or married off to someone they could control.

“I'll see you are married well.”   ARGH!  Azula buried her fingers in her hairs and pulled.  None of her choices were good. Her brother was certain to get killed and she was certain to suffer. Unless her brother won. But how could he win? Even if the Avatar was alive … what was she thinking. She had to prove it to him. “You will be welcome ..” “Nauja!” Azula shouted. “Azula please!” “I'm not ratting you out brother. I'm proving to you that the Avatar isn't alive. NAUJA!” she shouted again. Her maid, a non-bending water-tribe woman raised in the palace, shuffled sleepily into the room. Smart enough to be useful, smart enough to know not to anger her, not smart enough to cause her trouble.

“Fetch Gao Ru.” He was one of her links to what was truly going on outside of the Palace.

“If Gao Ru says the Avatar is alive,” Azula explained once Nauja was out of the room, “then he is alive.  Then … I've a plan.” She didn't, but how likely was the Avatar to be alive?

Zuko sat across the table from her smiling triumphantly.

“No chance huh?”

Azula shook her head, still unable to believe what Gao Ru had told her not ten minutes before; the Avatar had been spotted alive in several areas of the Earth Kingdom. He was a child, had two other waterbending teens with him, and was searching for someone to teach him Earthbending. Had he learned fire and water already then? “Well, I'll be on my way.” Zuko stood to leave but Azula gripped his hand. “Wait, hear out my plan!”

“Fine.” Zuko sat down again. “What is your plan?” Good question. She hadn't actually thought one would be necessary. “Let's assume all the rumors are true and the Avatar is alive.” “Assume? Gao Ru was pretty convincing to me.” “THEN assume he has learned at least some firebending and waterbending. He's searching for an earthbender right? Who could he want more than the resistance leader?” “The Blind Bandit? But she's nothing more than …” “The person who is giving us the most grief. And you can't just march in there and challenge him to a duel.” “I can't?” “No.  And we have to stop him before he meets up with her or her men.” Azula smiled, now she did have a plan. “Nauja!” Her maid was a bit quicker this time, most likely not having time to sleep.

“Fetch me my special garb.” “Yes princess.” The maid bowed.

“And,” Azula called her back, “similar for my brother.” The maid bowed and left.

“Now brother, you will see how I get out of the palace undetected, and stay that way. And how we will defeat the Avatar.

So this is as far as I got. Work etc. Hope you like.

As a bit of background, which I hope will become clear via the story itself, Iroh’s son is dead, but not from the war. Azulon, disappointed with both of Ozai’s children has made it clear he no longer ascribes to the Sages prophecy. Lu Ten is back home and dies from an “illness”.  Iroh is suspicious. So is Azulon. Ursa feels distanced from both her children, and is pregnant again. She knows what Ozai wants, has no love for anyone in the palace aside from her children, and has given up on being able to influence them. So there’s the plan. Lu Ten is dead and before Azulon can take action he is gone of a “heart-attack”, brought on by extended grieving for the loss of his grandson. Ursa takes advantage of the commotion and vamooses.