"Sorry I'm late, father," Azula addressed Ozai, and slowly walked past my chair. As she did, I felt her fingers pinch my side just right under my rib like I'd done to her twice before.
I jumped up and I clapped my hands over my mouth, letting out a small but audible squeal. All heads turned towards me, no blame on Azula who walked away casually. I gave them an I don't know what you're talking about shrug and they all looked back at Ozai who sat at the end of the table.
I looked to the side where Zuko sat and found his eyes on me. He raised his eyebrows in a questioning glance. I rolled my eyes and gave him the I don't care message, and looked back at Azula, sticking out my tongue. I tried not to break out laughing when she did the same thing, sticking out her tongue at me and adding the extra effect of crossing her eyes.
After our little moment back at the beach, she'd been oddly different. Her prankster side was coming out slowly. I mean, she left rotten eggs in my bathroom drawer for two days and the smell got so bad everyone thought I did something in there when they passed by. So I did the 'put toothpaste in the pillowcase' prank I learned from the book 'Pranking for Dummies' (and why would they call it that?) and in the morning she stormed into my room with toothpaste crusted on the side of her head, making her hair stick up all over the place.
To get me back, she put blue paint in a bucket on top of my door, but fortunately Zuko got in there first, and it tipped over, soaking him. We had a really good laugh at that.
And then I put honey all over her chair and stuck turtleduck feathers all over it so when she sat down at an important meeting and then got up, feathers were stuck all over her behind. And it was even more funny because everytime she'd walk out of a room, everyone would snicker and call her 'Roastzula'. I don't know where that even came from.
And today she went with the squeeze-your-gut prank.
So I decided to make booby traps, putting a wire right outside the meeting room since she always left first.
But sadly, she didn't.
And one of the very respected visitors did.
He walked forward.
"Oh, no, sir . . . " I tried to pull him back but it was too late.
I covered my eyes.
He tripped over the string, landing face first into a box of mud. The wire, connected to a bucket of worms flipped over and onto his head.
Azula looked at me. And I looked at her.
And we both looked at Zuko.
Who looked at Ozai.
Who. Laughed.
It was small but precise. Everyone heard it, suddenly freezing. Even mister mud and worms looked at him.
"Dismissed," was all the Fire Lord said, his eyes landing right on me. I shrugged, and he shook his head.
I liked this guy.
♋♋♋
Sparky Sparky Boom man was now Combustion Man. He'd attacked them last night, and he'd seen Aang. He'd intercepted the message of a few Fire Nation guards who'd spotted Aang.
"He was looking for us," Katara said.
"Yeah. Me. Not Ayame," Aang shot Sokka a glare.
Katara hugged her knees as Appa flew over the clouds, "We were wrong. We accused her of something she never did."
"I feel really bad," Toph sighed.
"I . . . I didn't mean . . . " Sokka put his head in his hands. "And now she's against us. Completely on the opposite team."
