Though she had only been travelling with the group for the last 4 weeks, the blind heiress of the Beifong family felt that she had been able to get a pretty good sense of what made each of her friends tick.

Sugar Queen had this maternal instinct about her that seemed to fit rather nicely into what a woman of the Water Tribe was supposed to be. However, the blind earth bender also got the impression that much of this personality stemmed from some past trauma. For in her experience, both from her time in the ring, and during her efforts of eavesdropping on her father's business meetings, she had come across countless people who allowed some past event to influence their mind set.

And considering she could feel the way Katara's body always tensed up when speaking about the Fire Nation, as well as the slight defensive way she acted whenever someone threatened to usurp her position as Aang's favorite, Toph suspected that the female waterbender had some unresolved issues to take care of.

Though considering the rather naïve nature of their multi bending pupil, the blind earth bender suspected that such resolutions would arrive either too late for them to take hold, or would serve to be insufficient.

Twinkle Toes on the other hand possessed traits that were both similar, and yet different to his water bending teacher.

For while he was still haunted by his past, something that was understandable considering the way he spent the last 100 years, he seemed to be perfectly willing to embrace his peoples penchant for living in the present, even if he showed bouts of nervousness when it came to discussing his future confrontation with the Fire Lord.

An admirable trait in some ways, but one that didn't necessarily help one become a master earth bender.

It had taken all of her patience to get him to the point where he could tackle a problem head on, which was the final step in unlocking the ability to earthbend. But even this success had left her with a feeling of doubt since beneath this new found determination she could sense the same sort of emotion that she had felt in both her opponents, and her parents.

Fear.

In small doses, fear was a good thing since it provided that extra bit of incentive that could spell the differences between victory or defeat.

But too much of it, and a person could be rendered as helpless as a newborn badgermole.

And since the fate of the world was depending on Aang to save it from the destructive tendencies of a man who seemed content on fulfilling the dream of his genocidially inclined ancestor it was clear that the Airbender would need to work past his insecurities before they threatened to overwhelm him.

And as for Snoozles, she would never say this to his face, but he was probably the bravest person she knew.

To travel with the Fire Nation's deadliest enemy with no bending skills of his own, and having the courage to continue on despite the nature of the opponents that were constantly at their heels?

That was easily considered to be praiseworthy. Even if she did enjoy how Sokka acted whenever things didn't go his way.

But funnily enough, the Spirits always managed to somehow reward his grumblings in the most unforeseen way.

For after griping about Aang's chosen destination for their next mini vacation, a state of affairs that slightly irked her since they could have been using their time to hone his rapidly developing talents as an earthbender, their arrival in this rather run down town had somehow led to a meeting that, while boring the hell out of her, somehow managed to excite not only Snoozles, but also the rest of their group as well.

Because unless their destination had books that could somehow read themselves, she didnt see what the big deal was about a library from the spirit world.

But since this was probably going to be their last chance to relax before they FINALLY reached the outer walls of the largest city in the world, Toph decided to keep her less than charitable decisions to herself.

For while it was fun to make fun of the boomerang wielding teenager, there were times when it felt ok to give him a break.

….

During my tenure as the Fire Lord's preferred servant when it came to performing duties that would be….troublesome if carried out by either the Royal Guard or his more murderous offspring, I have seen and done things that many people would view as either monstrous or alarming.

Manipulating a family of traitors into making their deaths look like a murder suicide.

Causing the body of a corrupt nobleman to slowly die as I made him watch each of his limbs rot from the inside before I let it claim his life. Though that did manage to earn me a reprimand from Ozai since it turned out that the man had some connections that placed him under the category of 'to be used to cement my rule at a later date'.

And just before I managed to secure a more active role in the hunt for the Avatar, there had been a particularly messy night when I had decided to have a little fun in carrying out Ozai's order to remind his slave labor force that there were consequences for disobeying their new masters.

All of this I had done without a moments hesitation. But for the first time since I had taken my mother's place as the Fire Lord's top assassin, I had been presented with a sight that made me perhaps for the first time experience something approaching the horror that many of my targets experienced at my hands.

It wasn't the first time that I had to contend with the mercenary attentions of the female gender. But I can definitely say that this was the first time I had been pursued by a girl whose conniving and backstabbing nature was surpassed by her total lack of experience when it came to the art of seduction.

Leaving aside the fact that she was underage, though puberty was proving to be rather generous with her development if not quite to the same standard as her more cheerful companion, and the fact that Ozai would roast me alive if I did anything to 'corrupt' his daughter, Azula's blatant attempts to try and seduce me to her side where as terrifying as they were see through.

At first I suppose her attempts had been more amusing than frightening.

Delaying the start of her group's morning meal until I decided to seek out something that was of higher quality than the rations the common received.

Managing to sound somewhat genuine when she's positively critiquing my training sessions with her more…flexible friend. Who annoyingly enough still managed to cling to her more pacifist tendencies despite my continued attempts to make her adopt a more…realistic approach to combat.

But when her attempts began to become a bit more…forward, that's when the line between amusing and scary was crossed.

If she had been older, or at the very least had a body that was as developed as Ty Lee, and I had no previous knowledge of her true personality, I probably would have at least been somewhat tempted to see if her brief glimpses of unmarked skin, or the over the top flirting led to anything more…intimate.

But since she wasn't, and the fact that Ozai's daughter was easier to deal with as a coldly calculating sadist than some imitation of a badly trained courtesan, I found myself wishing for any bit of distraction that would allow me to temporarily forget this rather uncomfortable situation.

Though when it occurred, it was something that I hadn't expected.

For ever since my little…demonstration with that rather disrespectful officer, the rank and file, not to mention the officers, had seen fit to treat me with a level of weary respect that managed to surpass even Azula herself. Which in turn meant that apart from the Princess and her friends, I had little need to worry about being disturbed whenever I felt the need for solitude.

Which is why I was more curious than irritated when I heard the unmistakable sound of someone rustling around in my private quarters.

Though this feeling quickly morphed into something else as I beheld not only the identity of the intruder, but also what it had been rummaging around in.

…..

Though it had been some time since it had experienced the emotion mortals called fear, if only because it was damn near impossible to fail the task it had been given, the knowledge seeker released a pain filled yip as it felt the unfamiliar sensation of it's chi being turned against it.

During the course of it's centuries long service to 'he who knows ten thousand things', it had occasionally been attacked by element wielding mortals that mistook it for some common scavenger as it performed it's duty. Something that had sadly become more common during the 100 years absence of the being that was supposed to serve as the bridge between the Spirit World and the Physical World.

But, this was the first time it had encountered a being that not only possessed knowledge on the old way of manipulating one's inner chi, but also the first time it had found itself at the mercy of someone that wasn't it's avian shaped master.

For as a spirit, the Knowledge Seeker was comprised of energy that could not be harmed by the elements that existed in the Physical World. At least permanently. But it was vulnerable to mortals that either possessed high levels of spiritual energy, or had unlock the ability to manipulate the energies that both spirit and mortal kind required to live.

Which was why the fox shaped spirit cowered in fear as the human approached it with a less than pleased expression.

"It's been a while since I've had to deal with a member of your…species, but rest assured that I still remember how to cause your kind pain. Now, before I lose my patience, kindly drop the scroll that is currently in your mouth. It's only a copy, but the original is back in the Fire Nation, and I likely won't be able to return for some time".

Though it went against it's usual instinct, the Knowledge Seeker quickly released it's prize before the glaring human decided to employ less pleasant methods to coerce it's cooperation.

However, instead of releasing it from it's induced paralysis, the fox like spirit was confused when the human proceeded to do something that it had never before experienced during its interaction with mortals.

"Since I already have an idea of what you are, one of the upsides of having a parent that ensured that my…education had extended into topics that most dismiss as legends I suppose, I will offer you a deal".

And upon hearing what exactly it's human captor wished of it in exchange for it's freedom, the Knowledge Seeker couldn't help but expiernece an unfamiliar feeling of nervousness as it hesitantly agreed to the spoken conditions.

….

Though she understood, albeit grudgingly, that there were times where she would be unable to immediately achieve her desired goals, Ketsueki's continued ability to resist her charms was becoming, to say the least, taxing.

As the favored child of Fire Lord Ozai, Azula's preferred method of getting others to obey her whims was through the liberal usage of fear. Confident that her prodigal firebending skills would be more than sufficient to deal with the rare few that refused to believe that she wouldn't carry out her threats.

But since her father's assassin possessed both the rank and power to be more or less immune from her usual persuasive techniques, and lacked the easily exploitable weakness of a still living family member, the blue flamed firebender was forced to rely on one of the few things, if not the only thing, that she was grateful to receive from her mother.

While she detested the woman who gave birth to her, both because she refused to acknowledge her greatness and because she favored a child of Sozins line that couldn't even firebend until he was 8, Azula had to admit that Ursa, for all her faults, had been an attractive woman.

Which was probably the only reason why her father had tolerated a woman that had an attitude that was less than…desirable for a future Fire Lady.

But even with her beauty, combined with the knowledge she had gained from listening to the drunken gossiping of her nation's soldiers, and her teachers regarding male behavior, her plan to shift Ketsueki's loyalty away from her father had yet to make any progress.

In her darker moments, she believed that her efforts were being sabotaged, albeit unintentionally, by Ty Lee, whose more fleshed out figure surpassed her still developing curves. But since Ketsueki's eyes never carried the same hint of lust that could be seen in the more perverse members of the encampment, she began to suspect that the female form alone was insufficient to gain his interest.

Sadly however, each and every time she tried to hold a conversation with the man, it produced results that were less than satisfying.

Either he would dismiss her attempts with that insolent tongue of his, something which not even her friends could get away with on those days when she was in a particularly good mood, or he would just ignore her completely.

NO ONE ignored her.

At least those that still wanted to live.

But as much as she wanted to incinerate her father's assassin, Azula knew that such an attempt was easier said than done. And thus summoned what remained of her steadily depleting patience in order to continue her rather frustrating attempts to bend the infuriating male to her will.

But considering the nature of her friends report, the daughter of Oazi suspected that it was only a matter of time before she set someone on fire.

Taking a deep breath in a rather futile attempt to soothe her anger, Azula proceeded to repeat the news she had just been given in a deceptively calm manner.

"So let me get this straight. Rather than accept my rather generous offer to have a thoughtful and pleasant discussion regarding the Fire Nation's future assault on the city that defeated my treacherous uncle, Ketsueki has decided to undertake some sort of….what was the term you used Ty Lee"?

Though knowing perfectly well what the assassin had told her understandably anxious friend, the favored child of Ozai nevertheless wanted to hear the pony tailed acrobat speak the words.

"Ummm…he said that he was going on a fact finding mission. Though what kind of facts he intends to find in the desert, I have no clue".

Humming in light approval at Ty Lee's curiosity, if only because it mirrored her own, Azula gestured her friend to relax as she mused over the facts.

"Considering he has only take enough provisions for, at most a 4 day journey, not to mention the direction he was reported to be travelling in, I suspect that we will have that answer soon enough. For correct me if I'm wrong, but apart from the remnants of a town that once profited from some sort of environmental anomaly, there is nothing of interest except miles upon miles of scorching sand".

Receiving a somewhat hesitant nod from Ty Lee, which served to increase her annoyance since it did little but confirm that she was no closer to discovering the reason for the assassin's departure, Azula raised an eyebrow as the gloomy knife thrower provided a piece of information that, if not exactly useful, nevertheless proved to be somewhat interesting.

"Not if you believe the more superstitious of the men. Get a few drinks into the more talkative ones, and you'll hear all sorts of things that sound like children's stories, Including ones that have to deal with what exists within the Si Wong Desert. Ketsueki doesn't strike me as the type to believe in such things, but considering that he doesn't exactly discuss his hobbies, its possible that he might possess the same type of curiosity for such things as your uncle".

Conceding the point with a nod, though she grimaced at the thought of having her future minion having anything in common with her treacherous fool of a relative, Azula did her best to keep her tone devoid of skepticism as she commented on Mai's explanation.

"Perhaps. But it depends on what kind of stories are being shared around the late night campfires. Somehow I doubt that my father's most skilled assassin would be interested in searching for some long lost tea room".

Her words earning a nod of agreement from the unsmiling knife thrower, Azula experienced two sets of emotions as Mai proceeded to inform her of what the men believed to exist within the Si Wong Desert.

Anger because Ketsueki had decided to prioritize the satisfaction of his childlike curiosity instead of her attempts to develop a more amicable relationship.

And uncertainty because if her father's assassin did find what he was looking for, she suspected that the chances to woo Ketsueki to her side would be more difficult than they were currently.

And that was something which frustrated her to no end.

….

Annnnnnnnd I think this would be a good place to stop :D

Apologises for the shortness of the chapter, but considering that this is the last bit I needed to do in order to set the stage for the next confrontation….I'm hoping its worth it XD

Now, to summarize the different segments of this chapter.

Toph's perceptions of the group I believe are straight forward I believe. Yes she isn't as charitable when it comes to how she views Aang or Katara, but at this point in time, she hasn't experienced anything life threatening/bond forming with the group apart from the chase. Thus, she's still a position where she can be less than charitable when pointing out their flaws. And unlike Katara, she is more likely to confront said issue rather than deflect (I confess that this perception is influenced by the fanfic story Embers, but its valid I believe) Also added that bit about Sokka in there for fun just cause poor guy needs a break.

For the segement with my assasin, again, think its realistic, or at the very least amusing. Killing people in horrific ways is fine for a man in Ozai's employ. Dealing with Azula when she believes herself to be a flawless weapon of destruction is also fine. But dealing flirtations of a sadistic control freak who doesn't really know how to act like a normal teenager?...I confess that I was heavily influenced by the Beach Episode XD

Don't believe I have to explain the bit about the knowledge seeker.

And as for the azula part, don't think I need to go into too much detail. Though the part about her mother I believe is plausible. Yes Azula has serious issues with both parents, but I believe that she is capable of being somewhat grateful. For Ozai, brainwashing aside, its her firebending prowess. For Ursa, harder to say, but I believe its possible that Azula could be grateful to inherit Ursa's looks.

Anyways, hopefully you are all enjoying this story, your reviews and comments are appreciated, flamers not.

Til next time.