Team Girl Power + Zan 2

"It'll be so nice to see Mai again won't it Azula?" Ty Lee asked as she perkily skipped alongside me, while we both kept pace with her palanquin, making our way through the streets of Omashu the next morning, "It'll just be like old times, all three of us together again."

"Well, except Zuko won't be around this time to make Mai all embarrassed, but I suppose it will be far more interesting than my days have usually been the last few years." Azula hummed.

"Hey, that's okay, we've got Zan here, his name is even spelled with a Z like Zuko's!" Ty Lee beamed, before turning to me, "And hey, Zan will get to have the time of his life with three beautiful girls around all the time."

"I can positively hear my self restraint crying at the thought." I replied with a smirk.

Azula snorted at my sarcasm, "Indeed, how terrifying."

"Boo, no wonder Azula likes you so much," Ty Lee heckled me, skipping over to prod at my side with her fingertip, "You're just as sarcastic as she is."

'Yeah she wishes.' I snorted myself before grinning at the brown haired beauty prodding me, "You know if you keep groping me like that, It's only fair I get to grope you back."

"Oooh, you are scary aren't you?" she jerked away and wrapped her arms around her chest, hiding it from view, "Azula, help, Zan's going to steal my maidenly virtue."

"...I didn't even know you knew what virtue meant Ty Lee, consider me impressed." Azula elected to say instead.

"How mean!" Ty Lee pouted, "I'm flighty, not stupid you know."

(Gained 3 Reputation with Ty Lee.)

(Gained 2 Affection with Ty Lee.)

I found myself chuckling at the by play, "So what's your friend Mai like?" I asked, changing the subject, even if I already knew quite well.

"Oh Zan, you really will need to meet her to understand," Ty Lee sighed, but there was a fond smile on her face, "It's entirely likely she's thought about going to the top of this mountain city and throwing herself off the top every day, and she's not even been here for long. When we get there, she'll probably go on about something like, 'I'm so bored, life is terrible and bland, why isn't anything fun? I'm so sad that I'm not as pretty as Ty Lee, please kill me.'"

"….Right..." I turned away from her, I turned to the palanquin, utterly ignoring the four fire bending soldiers carrying it on their shoulders, "Anything to add princess?"

Azula hummed, "No that seems about right," I saw her smirk through the palanquin covering, "Though she forgot to add that while jealous of Ty Lee's looks, she most likely cried herself to sleep every night over mine."

I burst out laughing, I honestly couldn't help it, "..That's good...to know." I replied between fits of laughter. Man were these girls catty.

(Gained 1 Reputation with Azula.)

It was a few minutes later that we arrived at our destination. When we reached the home of the governor with many guards standing at attention, it was to find a pale, porcelain skinned girl clad in baggy red robes, her glossy black hair tied up into a bun atop her head waiting for us.

"Please tell me you're here to kill me." Mai drawled in a lifeless, droning voice. God even her voice was bland.

What did Zuko ever see in this chick I wonder?

"It's so good to see you Mai!" Ty Lee hopped over and wrapped the girl in a great big hug.

Mai awkwardly pat her on the back, "You to Ty Lee. Though I'm surprised to see you with Azula. I thought you found your true calling or whatever at the circus." she replied.

Ty Lee pulled back from the hug still beaming, "Well, Azula called harder I guess," she replied with a shrug, "And she has an important mission she needs to complete that she needs my help with, I couldn't just say no could I?"

"Please tell me you're here to recruit me for this mission as well." Mai said, staring at the palanquin.

The curtains covering the palanquin peeled back and Azula stepped out with a smirk on her lips, "Come now Mai, you don't even know that the mission is," she replied, "And besides, you have such a nice thing going for your family here, are you sure you'd want to leave it all behind?" the sarcastic teasing was hard to miss.

The robed girl glared lightly at the princess, "I would rather do anything else than sit around here for another minute and you know better than anyone else just how boring a position like this is," Mai shot back, "The most interest I get here is throwing my knives at walls and twirling them between my fingers. We can go adventuring in the Foggy Swamp for all I care, just get me out of here."

"Well, if you're so desperate I suppose I can include you," Azula mused, "But are you really sure? The missions involves capturing my traitor of an uncle. We're hunting my uncle...and Zuko."

Mai's eyes widened lightly before narrowing, all the joking atmosphere leaving her immediately, "The news about your uncle spread here quickly as well. But noting about Zuko, what happened?" she practically outright demanded.

"Well, he did attack me, a member of the royal family while he is an exile," Azula shrugged, smiling coyly, "But really I know already that it's my uncle who has been filling his head with nonsense for three years straight, father should never have allowed the fat buffoon to go with him, he's got dear Zuzu all confused."

"Zuko being confused, who would have thought it?" Mai rolled he eyes and replied drily, "Still, is that why you came here to recruit me? Are you hoping if he see's me that Zuko will come along quietly?"

"Well it certainly helps, I'll admit, but really, the chances of that are slim to none, Zuzu has been at sea for three years, and you know what men at sea tend to get up to don't you?" Azula smirked.

Mai flinched, and Ty Lee gasped, "Azula, was that necessary?" the perky girl scowled lightly, showing the first hint of negative emotion since I met her last night. To be fair though, Azula's question would be perfectly valid and most likely to be true..if it weren't Zuko she was talking about.

Who knows, maybe he has spent the night with a women or two to work off the frustration. But, with how hyper focused he was as a person, I doubted it.

"It's alright Ty Lee," Mai sighed, "She's right, we weren't even really together before things went crazy back then and he got exiled."

Yeah, exiled because his dad is a crazy tool. 'Man, I gotta make sure I'm the one who kills that stupid cunt, he'll be worth some nice fat and juicy experience points I bet.' I mused. And I'd probably get a ton of perk points if I managed it as well.

Azula clapped her hands, drawing all attention to her, "Well, we'll see when we get to that point won't we?" she said, "Now, before we get to my mission, I've heard tales of resistance fighters causing you all trouble, I suppose I should make sure to clean things up while I'm here. Take me to your father, I wish to speak to him."

Mai scratched her neck, "..About those rebels.." she began a tale Azula was not very fond of at all.​