Aug 7, 2013
Seeing how evil I am and how this blog should have a lot more activity than it does...
I'm going to start dropping previews and teasers for the next Gladiator chapters here!
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Seeing how evil I am and how this blog should have a lot more activity than it does...
I'm going to start dropping previews and teasers for the next Gladiator chapters here!
Parting Ways... for now
"I believe the Princess will be taking her leave now, won't she?" asked Piandao, turning towards Azula
"Yes, I will be on my way" said Azula, and Sokka stared at her in surprise.
"Huh? How come? I thought you'd stay and watch every step of my training…" the gladiator said, looking slightly confused.
"I'm very flattered to see you'll miss me, Sokka" said Azula, making him wince and shake his head in denial "But I have important matters to deal with in the Capital. I will come for you in a few weeks, once I have established you as a combatant in the Superior Gladiator League"
"Oh… okay" said Sokka, now dreading the day Azula would return even though she wasn't even gone yet "Then I'll be free of you for a few weeks?"
"Yes, you will. Enjoy it while you can" Azula suggested, smirking.
"Fat, please guide the Princess outside" said Piandao "Your gladiator will be well trained the next time you see him, Princess"
"I should hope so" Azula stated "Good day, Master Piandao"
Sokka watched as she followed Fat through the door. Perhaps he would miss her, if only a little bit… especially since he wanted to know what exactly had she discussed with Piandao before the man had agreed to teach him. Although, truth to be told, she held so many mysteries that aroused his curiosity that if he had a chance, he wouldn't even know what to ask… Would he discover what she was hiding someday…?
"Are you ready, then, for your first lesson?" asked Piandao, bringing him out of his thoughts.
He could think about Azula's secrets and troubles later, that much was clear; because right now, he would be able to become the apprentice of the greatest sword master. He nodded, pushing everything else away and focusing on the matters at hand as he said.
"Yes, master"
Azula glanced back at the building once she was heading back to port amongst her Royal Guards. It was strange to think she was slightly reluctant to leave behind her gladiator: she hardly knew him yet she felt a strange attachment towards him. Was this the typical bond between a sponsor and gladiator? She forced herself to believe it was, although her heart seemed perfectly convinced of the opposite…
Read more HERE
Gladiator Ranking Updated
Up to date with chapter 24 and new gladiator names have been revealed!
Was it a big surprise? Were you expecting him to show up eventually? :D In any case, I hereby welcome our very own Avatar Aang to Gladiator!!! ^w^
To read his appearance, drop by over HERE!
Embarrassment
"Gee, I'm so tired… This has been the weirdest day of my life. I'm just waiting for something to happen so that I wake up and discover everything's been a dream"
"I'm pleased to hear you think of it as a dream rather than a nightmare" said Azula, smiling
"Well, there's weird stuff in dreams too" said Sokka "And you're the weirdest of it all"
"I'll take that as a compliment, Blue Wolf" said Azula, smirking "Will you keep using that name in the Superior League?"
"Sure, why not?" said Sokka, shrugging "Well, it's been fun and all, but I think I'll jump in bed right now, if you don't mind…"
Azula grimaced and shook her head
"I do mind… I don't think you should get in bed yet. Go take a bath. You're filthy and so are your clothes"
"Hey! I washed myself and my clothes back when I was at Hui Yi, before you showed up!" yelled Sokka
"May I remind you you're a 'wolf'?" said Azula "If you throw water on a filthy wolf, the stench only gets worse"
Sokka frowned and smelled his armpits. Either he was too used to his odor or the Fire Nation Princess had extremely delicate senses.
"You've probably spent ages without a proper bath… well, if you ever took one, that is" said Azula, shrugging and making Sokka glare at her again "So go take one. There's a good bathroom two doors down"
"How would you know if I've taken a proper bath or not?" he grunted
"It looks like you haven't, judging by where you came from and where you've spent the last two years of your life" said Azula "You probably don't even know how to use soap"
"Well, seeing as how you're being so awfully insistent about me taking a bath, I'm guessing you want to be the one to teach me how to use soap?" he said, winking at her.
He was amazed to see her blush intensely as she stared at him in dismay, disbelief and anger
"What on earth are you implying, you disgusting savage?! Are you stupid?!"
"I'm implying you want to take a bath with me, of course!" he said, chuckling as he walked to the door, Azula's glare followed him closely as she blushed even more "Okay, relax, girl! I was only joking! Although seeing you get flustered like this proves you're not really heartless… seems like you're capable of emotions, alright" he said, patting her on the head as he passed by next to her "See you around, Princess…"
Her title seemed to lose all dignity when he was the one uttering it, and Azula couldn't help but feel outraged at the thought. How dared he speak to her in such manner…? If anyone seemed keen to take an accompanied bath it was him, not her! She never mentioned such a ridiculous idea! He was truly a pervert, wasn't he? Back when they met he had been talking about her 'blue fire', now he wanted to bathe with her?!
She found herself even more flushed when she saw him take off his shirt as he walked towards the room she had signaled at him. His back seemed to mock her… and for reasons she couldn't understand, she couldn't get her eyes off it.
"Make sure you get plenty of rest, you savage!" she yelled "You'll be up at six in the morning, you heard me?!"
"Yeah, yeah…" he said, shaking his hand carelessly as he entered the bathroom.
It took a few minutes for Azula to calm down, for her heart-rate to return to normal. She felt so humiliated… How dared he? And... Why hadn't she found anything good to retort at him with? She was never breathless... she always had the last say and thus she left everyone else in shock, not the other way around!
Read more HERE
Reunited once again
"Why, though?" asked Sokka "What's the real goal of what you're doing? Just say it already, will you?"
Azula sighed and lowered her gaze again.
"I have two objectives, if I think about this on the long run" she muttered "First of all… I need you to defeat someone's gladiator. And I need it done as quickly as possible. You'll have about one month to train to be up to the skill of this gladiator… then, you must fight him. And you must win, no matter what. Understood?"
"Uh… okay…" said Sokka, gulping. Who was this person Azula seemed to hold a grudge towards? Why did she need him to smash his gladiator so badly? "What about the other goal, then?"
"It's something… something I realized just now, actually" she said "Truth to be told… if you achieve victory on your first fight, you might be the person I need to help me accomplish the biggest of my feats so far…"
"Right… can you be direct and say what you want already?" asked Sokka, growing impatient
"I want you to become the top gladiator of the Superior Gladiator League"
Sokka's jaw dropped in quite a comical manner. Azula, though, wasn't amused. Her stare was steady on his eyes, proving to him that she was serious about what she'd just said.
"Y-you… you're crazy, woman" he said, unable to believe her statement "You… you really are crazy"
"That does seem to be the popular belief…" she muttered, playing with her bangs as Sokka yanked the short stubs of hair that grew on the sides of his head.
"You're insane!" he concluded, turning to her again "How can you even suggest I become the top gladiator?! I'm not even the best in the amateur league of Hui Yi!"
"You're giving up before even trying?" asked Azula, disappointed
"Please, cut the crap!" yelled Sokka "You're talking about the Superior League! They have benders there and all! How on earth do you want a simple non-bender like me to beat them?! Maybe I'm good against people like me, but against benders I'll be toast!"
"Which is why you'll be trained so you can fight benders on even terms" said Azula "You had a few tricks up your sleeve today against the dart man, proof you're smart enough to come up with ploys that might give you the upper hand even against the most skilled benders. Also, rules are very different in the Superior Gladiator League… there are several non-benders amongst the top fifty gladiators"
"And what makes you think I can be one of them?" asked Sokka, his eye twitching
"What makes you think you can't?" replied Azula "Just imagine the glory you'd attain… the top gladiator, a non-bender. People would be in awe and they would hold you in high honors, no matter if you're a slave or not"
"That's likely, but still…" mumbled Sokka "I don't know. It sounds fishy. But… if I manage to become the top gladiator, you'll let me return home?"
Azula's brow contracted as she pondered her options. She would rather have him prove he was worthy of the position of first gladiator of the ranking during a few weeks or months… but she didn't have much of a choice at this point.
"Yes" she said, and Sokka jumped, surprised
"I… I thought you'd refuse" he admitted
"Well, I didn't" said Azula "Do we have ourselves a deal, then?"
Sokka didn't really know what he was getting himself into… and he probably didn't want to know either. This was bound to develop into something beyond his control, something absurd that he wouldn't understand, since he didn't understand much already anyways. Why did Azula need a gladiator? Why him? What was the point of having him become the top gladiator of the Superior League? He wanted the answer to these questions… but he figured he would find out soon enough if he was patient.
"Deal" he said, extending his hand towards her.
Azula stared at the hand, unsure if she should grasp it or not. It was a ridiculous notion, a Princess shaking hands with a slave… but he had seen her as equals back when they were at the South Pole. Perhaps she should return the favor now…
Both felt a jolt when their hands touched, no matter if Sokka's was covered by a glove. The most physical touch Sokka had had lately was when he had been forced to strangle a man to his death… Azula didn't happen to touch much people either, and for him to be the one she touched, of all people… but despite the turmoil of feelings within their souls, their eyes didn't betray them as they held the other's gaze, both boiling with determination and certainty.
An alliance was formed then, one that would last for many years, one that would eventually develop into something beyond either of their reasoning at the moment… because right now, the sole conviction they both held was that they had become sponsor and gladiator.
Read more HERE
An amazing fanart by the even more amazing Kiwi! It's her rendition of how Sokka arrives to Hui Yi's Arena.
To see more of her great work, here you have the links to Kiwi's tumblr and deviantart
Thanks again for this amazing fanart! I love it! <3
"Haka! Kattan!" yelled Sokka, taking his gas mask off and dumping it to the ground. He flailed his arms at the men who had already climbed up the walls where Fire Nation guards had been standing before getting knocked into unconsciousness by the current occupants of the wall, and he caught their eye immediately.
"What's the matter?" asked Haka "Please tell me you already caught all the hostages!"
"I didn't!" admitted Sokka "There's a weird firebender here that doesn't seem affected even if there's no sun! She even ushers out blue flames! I lured her out here, help me take her out or else we won't get any hostages at all!"
"W-wait… did you say 'she'?" asked Kattan, shocked.
"Indeed, that's what he said"
Sokk turned towards the entrance of the building, from where there was some smoke from his second bomb pouring outside. The blurred shape he hadn't been able to discern earlier was walking towards him again, and now he could see the curves on the body, realizing it was definitely a woman. Kattan and Haka frowned and raised their boomerangs when they saw the silhouette exit the building, unwilling to weaver in their intentions even if they were to face a female.
And Azula wouldn't have wanted it any other way. A smirk played in her face as she finally walked outside the cloud of smoke, standing in plain sight now.
Sokka couldn't believe he found the firebending woman to be a striking beauty. But he blinked a few times to break the spell she seemed to unleash on his senses and he reminded himself of all the damage the Fire Nation had done. Who cared if there was a beautiful woman among them? She was surely as cruel as the rest of the men…
Well, he was wrong about that. She was far crueler than any of them, of course.
"Stay back and we won't hurt you" grunted Sokka, the blaze on his eyes proving he wouldn't hold back against her.
Azula smirked at the ferocious glare of the savage, feeling actual joy to be facing against a man who seemed to hate her all the same as he would hate any regular man from the Fire Nation. How wrong was it for her to feel glad to see he made no distinction among them? She didn't know, but the pride she felt to see she would finally be fighting against a man as equals was immeasurable.
"I'm afraid I'm not the type to fall back after such pointless threats, savage" she said, the smirk still growing on her face "You believed you could hold us all as hostages inside the settlement… you almost achieved your goal, but your luck was against you today. Because if I hadn't been inside, you probably would have caught those useless minions of my father's… but I happened to be there too. And I will not hesitate to bring you down if you're stupid enough to defy me"
"Oh, I'm stupid alright" said Sokka, gripping his boomerang in one hand and his club on another "But I think I have the upper hand here. You're completely outnumbered. Surrender and you won't get hurt"
"I'm outnumbered?" she repeated in disbelief "Do you truly believe that? There's an entire battalion of royal guards aboard my barge, and I'm certain they've already caught wind of what you petty savages are attempting to do here. They'll come tear your group apart in a matter of minutes; that is, if I'm not done killing you all before they get here"
Sokka would have laughed at the idea and thrown another threat back at the girl, but her words started to piece together in his mind slowly. Her father's minions… the royal guards… no way. He wasn't dealing with the Fire Lord's daughter… or was he?
"Well? Are you going to withdraw quietly into your huts again or would you rather have me kill you and your friends right now?" asked Azula.
"You're… you can't be…" said Sokka, taking a few steps back "You're… who the hell are you?"
Azula sighed dramatically but smiled once again as she took a more recommendable fighting stance
"I don't see why you need such knowledge, since I couldn't care less about who you are… but I do understand that I've impressed you enough for your dying wish to be to discover my identity" she said, obfuscating Sokka due to her arrogance.
"Stop jumping to conclusions, you…" he growled, but she ignored his mumbling completely as she answered his question
"I am Princess Azula, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation"
Read more HERE