The upper deck outside was all wind and steel around a conspicuously open space. It was the kind of space that meant something in the Fire Nation, whether Arzayan or the majority population, and it was evacuated of all ignitables.
Ty Lee slipped back out into that refreshingly cool, windy daylight with the bright little bounce of someone who absolutely had not just been ultra-kicked at for trying to wiggle through a ruthless lord's ventilation system again. Now she'd never get back the hair tie she lost in there, c'est la vie…
The sea wind caught at her skirt and replacement hair ribbon at once, tugging her into motion, and for a heartbeat she only meant to stroll to her old sunning spot and regroup and maybe think of a better infiltration tactic. When she saw who was out there, her breath caught in a sharp laugh, like she'd won a prize.
Lord Arza stood near the forward edge of the practice space, shirtless, broad-shouldered, and already peppered with a shine of sweat beads that made the gold-threaded wraps at his forearms and waist look even more unreasonably dramatic. The ghastly old burn that climbed the right side of his neck and upper chest showed plain in the daylight, with a shape that somehow looked painful on its own. He had tied his Raven-colored—and therefore fairly light brown—hair back hard off his face, and his idea of low ornamentation still involved a gaudy gold Arzayan necklace, about as many rings as fingers, and a tiny earring placed high on the left lobe that Ty Lee had recently learned was a hopefully-not-too-commonly used Arzayan indication of being widowed.
He thrust forward with a powerful fist, letting out a deep, "HAH!"
Two Arzayan marine firebenders worked together, and deflected the blast with effort. They circled him shirtless as well, though with rather less fancy peacocking. Both were built like men who ate swaths of slightly smaller big muscly dudes for peak nutritional intake. Their feet slid and planted on the black deck with practiced care. They were not holding back. Not remotely. It did not look like training when they rushed him to counterattack, and even at a distance it was utterly intense and exhilarating to watch.
One jet of fire, the lord dodged, and the other he seemed to 'catch' with his foot mid-jump to make a cracking smoky blast. Light blinded Ty Lee, and a searing beam shot back like a tenfold riposte. The marine lost whiskers, but not quite skin, from what she could see after blinking away the blur.
"Easy, my lord!" an older sage-like priest said with a smile and chuckle that barely made it out of his fluffy beard. "Can't put his head back on, not even with the blood!" he insisted, trying to sound calmer than he was despite his slight tremor. Or maybe he was just old.
"It's just his way of saying Our Lady needs me," the still slightly smoldering and absolutely crazy firebender marine declared as he smirked without a trace of fear.
The priest threw up his hands in defeat and went back to being an embroidered golden spearhead tapestry hanging from the gunwale in glorious excess. But Ty Lee did take note of his little lacquered box, which held rare and incredibly powerful Arzayan dragon's blood within. It certainly made her raise both eyebrows.
Ty Lee then turned her gaze, and saw a familiar but not Arzayan warship docked with the Sword of Ruin.
"Ty Lee," came a voice like an order, not a greeting.
"Azuuuula!" Ty Lee offered back like praise as she spun and snapped into place to offer the princess her widest smile.
Azula leaned against the wall near the edge of the practice deck, arms crossed, posture relaxed in the precise way that meant she was in no way relaxed at all. Her own elite benders were lined up at the docking platform between the two ships like a status display. Even among the deadly black and gold edges of the Arzayan flagship, Azula somehow managed to look like the sharper knife.
With a hop, Ty Lee hurried the last couple steps and clasped her hands behind her back. "It's so good to see you!"
Azula's gaze slid over her once, too exact to miss anything. "Is it?"
Ty Lee smiled harder. "Of course!"
It came out true and not true in the same breath, which was about as much of a disaster as anything short of slipping overboard in front of the crown princess.
Azula's eyes narrowed by a hair as she stepped forth into direct sunlight, blocking Ty Lee's view of the sparring. "You sound disappointed."
"I don't want to, though!"
"Yes, you d—wait…" Azula started like her reply was preloaded. "Ty Lee." She began again, then tapped two perfect fingernails to her forehead. She paused. Breathed out. And she finally said, "You've obviously spent too much time with these… people. So I'll forgive it! But just this once."
Ty Lee risked a glance past her again, her attention caught by another bright flash and rowdy cheer. "That's so kind of you, Azula. I'm sorry if I upset you."
Azula's face twitched ever so slightly. She subtly licked her teeth. Ty Lee's choice of words was like a trap to her, and she would cede none of her immunity to sentimentality.
Fire burst from one marine's sweeping kick. Arza leapt over it, with one kick and then a second, something Raven was almost as good at. Both subordinates had to dive aside from the intense blasts arcing up under their toes. One recovered fast, forcing the lord to dodge too rather than bend his next jet of flames away.
Azula's eyes darted between the figures, turning half around to see what could possibly be distracting Ty Lee's attention from her, and she smugly smiled.
"It's the tanned one, right?" Azula accused, like she had Ty Lee by the butterflies.
Ty Lee exhaled. "He's alright… but no."
Azula followed her gaze, unimpressed when it landed on Lord Arza. "I see."
Ty Lee flushed and did not know why because she was innocent, probably. "They haven't told me why we're going north, but it's been so much fun here."
"I am not Raven, " Azula said dryly. "And not interested in your cute little 'games'."
Ty Lee gave a tiny, helpless shrug.
"And we're invading the Northern Water Tribe. Finally," Azula stated rather directly, then took on a lighter tone as she added, "how unfortunate that you haven't managed to get their trust in all this time."
"Oh, yeah, I think Captain Secretary wants to kill me," Ty Lee turned to look up at the balcony off the bridge, where even dozens of feet above, both girls could see the violence in Shoko's eyes, which had apparently been locked on them for some time. Ty Lee waved up at her. "Nice weather, huh, Captain?" she called out, actually loud enough to hear.
Shoko didn't move a muscle. It was still a flex, though.
Azula actually stood there perplexed for a moment, trying to reason out the inscrutable but blatantly hostile dynamic. Ty Lee took it as an invitation.
"I think she's just jealous that Lord Arza is nicer to me than he is to her," she offered, not careful to be quiet, and not even bothering to look Shoko's way. "I feel a little bad for her, honestly. She's not taking it well."
The rampant cheer cutting forth from Ty Lee's loud mouth was so brutal that Azula had to puff up her chest a bit to keep the laugh down.
It was covered up by one of the firebender marines crying out. Both girls looked to see the tanned guy shaking his hand off, smoke trailing between his fingers.
"It's fine! Just stings," he gruffly shouted at the priest, who suddenly perked up at the notion of severe injuries.
Ty Lee gave Azula a good and long look without glancing back to the sparring, making her conscious enough to raise an eyebrow.
"So… why are you watching-"
Azula barked a laugh. "Not that. Honestly, Ty Lee. You really think I'm going to swoon over some madman in love with a 'goddess' he's never even met?"
Just then, there was a BOOM! that rattled the deck. Both marines went flying, and as the smoke quickly blew away in the cool wind it revealed Lord Arza turning expertly on a heel, brushing fingers through sweaty hair, and striding straight at the two girls with a look like he meant to smash their heads together and hurl them overboard.
The priest rushed over to check the two groaning benders flat on their backs.
Ty Lee pressed a hand to her chest over it all. "Wow..." she breathed out, ending in a delighted little chirp.
Azula barely looked at her. "He's doing this right now just to make me wait, you know. It's not even subtle. Honestly, it's embarrassingly transparent."
"Yeah… he'd so do that," Ty Lee agreed without losing a speck of cheer. But she blinked and waved her hand dismissively his way, rolling her eyes in a manner no worse than playful. "It's rude! You're totally right, Azula."
Azula's mouth twitched in something one could generously call patience, but really she just didn't have time to chew her ridiculous friend out before Lord Arza reached them.
He bowed enough, not deeply. "Princess Azula," he said. "Forgive the delay. But Our Lady demands perfection in war."
"Your Lady, Lord Arza," Azula immediately insisted, "and I am your crown princess." The tone alone conveyed she meant she was above Arzaya. It did not go unnoticed, even by nearby Arzayan soldiers.
There it was. That unspoken tension like lightning striking the deck a thousand times around them, but neither lord nor princess flinched. And he didn't even know she'd murdered his beloved daughter yet.
A soldier handed Lord Arza a thin robe, and he took the time to don it properly, maybe just a bit slower than necessary. Near the end he finally said, "We changed course as soon as we received your correspondence. Always a pleasure to receive you," and he delayed again. "Your Highness," he said with almost convincing reverence.
Azula grinned ever so slightly, and inclined her head in return. "I'm relieved to hear it," she spoke with perfection. "Father and I have been speaking. We're both hoping this cooperative endeavor will dispel any… lingering animosity between the royal palace and the Glittering Isles."
Even Ty Lee bit her lip, taking things seriously, and had to force herself not to step away from Azula with the dozens of Arzayan heads turning to glare at her. And they didn't even know she'd murdered their beloved daughter yet.
Azula's men looked distinctly like they'd been ordered to attack with split-second notice. Somewhere above them, Captain Shoko was about to rip the metal clean off the balcony with her white-gloved fingers. The princess took a few weaving steps, like she was casually avoiding landmines and threading poison into the deck with every sway of her posture, and she looked out over the vast sea.
"Crescent Island was unfortunate," she flatly stated. "Have you heard any details?"
Lord Arza's expression did not move. "No."
"A volcanic disaster, they're saying," Azula smoothly said. "But quite an unusual one. Certainly not natural?"
Arza came to stand beside her, also staring over the sea, like it was a competition over who would dare turn their backs harder on each other's assassins. He was firm but not quite offended as he said, "Our Lady is not beholden to us. We are beholden to Her."
Azula's eyes sharpened. "So you don't even deny she was involved? You're really going to go with 'it was spirits, don't blame us'? The royal family doesn't believe your faerie tales, you know."
Lord Arza gave her the darkest look she'd seen in a good long while. "You will," was all he said.
Azula shifted with deliberate casualness, like she refused to take that seriously at all. "Then perhaps you can offer me something more practical than excuses anyway. The Avatar. We know he's really back. And my father values reliable information."
Lord Arza's mouth twitched. It was not a friendly shape. "Then the Fire Lord will go hungry today. I have little to offer on that."
Ty Lee was trying to creep up just a bit closer behind the two, but somehow in the few seconds that she hadn't been looking, Captain Shoko had silently made it down and slid between Ty Lee and the pair with her hand most definitely on her jian this time.
Both Azula and Lord Arza shot glances back, getting out some mix of:
"Ty Lee-"
"-behave!"
For a moment, Lord Arza and Azula met each other's gazes without animosity, then flickered away.
"Back. Now," Shoko flatly ordered, hand still tight on the hilt.
"Yes, ma'am, Captain Secre-" and even Ty Lee gulped ever so slightly, and stopped herself. "Shokoooo…" she drawled out, just a teensy bit meek, in a stunningly rare moment of rampant self-preservation from a threat other than Azula.
The nearest Arzayans looked ready to duck and cover even at the partial insult, but Lord Arza clasped his hands behind his back and looked back out at the sea. Like a tired courier who just didn't care anymore, he delivered, "The Avatar was present at Omashu when my forces took the city for the Fire Lord," he said. "Unfortunately, the palace did not inform us of his return before he had moved on."
That one landed. Azula gave no reaction at all—which meant she had felt it.
"And Arzayanagi?" she asked.
Something went odd in the air. A collective tightening among the Arzayans present, including the two marines still struggling to stand up. The priest had the strangest look on his face. Almost… embarrassment? It certainly wasn't what Azula had been expecting, but she did at least appreciate they were all squirming.
"The Avatar departed Omashu with Arzayanagi," Lord Arza stated.
Azula did not speak.
Ty Lee blinked. "He did?"
Lord Arza had to actually glance at Captain Shoko, ever so briefly, to keep her from drawing her sword on the poor, horrendously out-of-place girl.
"The Avatar stole Arzayanagi, and you did not see fit to inform the Fire Lord?" Azula damn near scoffed. "What possible justification could you have for…" and she trailed off ever so slightly before biting her tongue, remembering the delicate nature of politics. She cleared her throat, gave the slightest nod as if that would be the only 'apology' he would get for her possibly but not likely unwarranted tone. "I'm sure you have some valid reason for this?"
Lord Arza continued, eyes on Azula alone, almost like he was disappointed in her lack of understanding. "Arzayanagi cannot be stolen, Your Highness," he reminded her like she really ought to know better, but he stifled the malice almost completely. "Arzaya's machinations are beyond any mortal's scope of understanding, even the Fire Lord's, or yours." He couldn't quite keep the smirk down.
She raised her eyebrows like 'the fuck did you just say to me?'
Everyone on both sides started darting eyes back and forth, choosing targets. Captain Shoko backed up right against Lord Arza, silently letting him know her exact position with her heel to his. She didn't notice Ty Lee's brief scowl, instead glaring at the princess like an arrow ready to fire.
"I have no more control over the wielder Our Lady chooses than you do, Your Highness," he said as he turned to face her, and Azula was perhaps the only person left on either ship who hadn't dropped into some form of ready stance.
It was because Azula knew damn well that if a fight did break out, it would be because she started it. Lord Arza wouldn't dare, not yet, not there, not so far from home, and she delighted in knowing it.
"How devout," she said softly, and chose not to roll her eyes. "But… is that all you have to report?"
Like offering everyone else a breath, Lord Arza gave a genuine sigh. He turned and faced everyone on the deck, giving a slow gesture so as not to accidentally start fires.
"Did any of you—all Arzayans present—understand Our Lady's vision? Of who now wields her weapon?" he said like he really didn't want to, but it'd come out eventually for sure.
There were a few heads shaking weakly, but the elder priest spoke up, offering, "Ah, Your Highness, I am afraid Our Lady's visions are not always clear."
Overall, it seemed Azula was more amused at their discomfort than she was annoyed at the hostility, and she savored every word of, "You have no idea where it is, or who has it."
Lord Arza just stared at her.
The corner of Azula's mouth twitched twice. The tiniest noise of amusement escaped. "Well, we'll meet for a strategy to account for that. My ship. In one hour." And she smoothly turned her head just enough. "Come along, Ty Lee."
Ty Lee instantly hunched over limply. "I… kind of thought I might stay here?"
"Absolutely not," Captain Shoko instantly stated.
Azula gave a 'hurt' look. "You don't want to catch up?" she said like she really meant it.
"Oh… yeah, of course! Silly me," Ty Lee complied, but she did sulk a bit the instant Azula's back was turned.
The whole entourage followed her without needing orders. The royal guard firebenders marched like they'd step right off the boarding platform and into the water if she commanded it, and Ty Lee managed to perk up back to fully cheerful by the time they were on Azula's ship.
"He's a decent firebender," Azula breathed out, like an admission, as soon as they were in the shade of the bridge towering over them.
Ty Lee was delighted. "Right?"
Glancing back just for a moment, eyes on that wicked burn scar, Azula was very pleased to add, "for someone my silly uncle beat in an Agni Kai."