Beautiful Enigma

A little hunt after the Blue Spirit is always interesting. Oneshot.

"Oh Agni, look, a poster of the Blue Spirit!"

Her golden eyes followed the pointing finger of her jumpy and excited friend, and rested on a wanted poster hung on a wall. She trudged forward to the paper painted with the face—or more like hidden face—of the notorious foe to the Fire Nation, with her hands clasped behind her straightened back and steady steps. She regarded the poster with pure hatred and disgust, and snatched it off the wall to examine the drawing more thoroughly, as though she wanted to remember each detail and corner of the white and blue mask, which was according to her really hideous. She would always prefer red, gold and black much over any, especially bright or of another nation, colours.

She felt Ty Lee peering over her left shoulder, as her chin rested on said body part, whilst Mai just stood next to her on her right, the everlasting boredom written all over her dull face, both gazing down at the poster being held up by her.

"I wonder what he looks like in real life," Ty Lee shared her thoughts aloud, pursing her lips together in a contemplative pout. "I bet he looks really cute underneath that eerie mask," she cooed, nodding her head in affirmation to her own observation, making her chin knock onto Azula's shoulder a couple of times.

"You think everyone is cute," Mai commented with a monotone voice, quirking an eyebrow at her non-stop cheery friend.

Ty Lee's mouth fell open at the accusation. "That is so not true!" she practically wailed back in defend, stepping away from Azula's left side and marching to Mai.

Languidly, the gothic girl just rolled her eyes. "Yes, it is," she countered, boredom leaving her voice and being replaced by exasperation instead. "You found the Water Tribe boy cute, you found the tall boy at the shop cute, you even told me earlier that the boy just standing against that pole was cute, and even the boy who was—," she summoned up her list of, according to Ty, adorable boys, but got interrupted by Azula.

"Enough!" she exploded in a fit of anger, abruptly stopping her friend's frantic rambling. "It doesn't matter if the Blue Spirit is cute," she emphasized the word with utter detestation. "or not. What does matter, is the fact that he's an enemy and he needs to be stranded behind bars in a jail of the Fire Nation."

Her eyes flashed with a glint of mischief as they met the ones of her friends, Mai still looking as tiresome as ever and Ty Lee shuddering visibly at her malicious glance and smirk tainted on her red, luscious lips. Then her amber eyes darted back to the poster in her hand, which was getting crumbled and smashed within her grasp.

"Ladies, from now on the Blue Spirit is one of our main targets."

Azula observed how Ty Lee licked her dry lips hungrily at the sight of the chop choi being placed in front of her on the table and how Mai was simply pleased with an ordinary salad, while she admittedly was rather famished herself and couldn't wait to eat the roasted duck she ordered.

All giddily, Ty Lee rubbed her hands together, and pulled her chopsticks that were stuck together apart in order to start her feast.

"Yummy, yummy, now it will enter my tummy," she rhymed enthusiastically, while she brought a chunk of her rice to her lips and chewing the food with a satisfied smile on her face.

Ty Lee sighed after a bit, which was the first time in ages, or since she joined Azula in her quest for her brother, uncle and the Avatar, and which aroused suspicion and curiosity from her team-mates.

She poked her fried chicken with her chopsticks. "All this food is making me thirsty," she complained, twisting her usually happy face into a gloom one.

"If you're thirsty, go to the bar and order yourself a drink," Mai suggested wisely and quite frankly annoyed at her acrobatic friend's lamenting over something so trivial and juvenile, and which was easy to solve.

"Okay, I guess," she mumbled distractedly and proceeded on jabbing her meat, not following up Mai's advice. Then her head snapped up promptly, while her face brightened up, and tugging at Mai's wrist. "Come on, we'll go fetch it together."

Mai wrinkled her nose, apparently not expecting that answer, and whined still monotonous. "Why do you have to drag me along? Can't you get it yourself?"

"No," was the sole reply of her friend, and she pulled at Mai's wrist as hard as she could. Somehow she managed to get the bored—and now irate—girl of her chair and to get her tagged along to the bar.

Azula watched them heading to the bar, where they were being served by an elderly, scruffy man who probably weighted more than her plump, jolly uncle. She scrunched up her nose in utter disgust and decided for the better to not glance that way again. Her eyes were cast at the abandoned dishes of her friends and clapping her tongue disdainful at her silly friends, she brought a handful of the deliciously baked rice to her open mouth, and plucked a few leaves of lettuce of Mai's plate and nibbled on them in secret pleasure.

"OH MY GOSH, THEY HAVE WATERMELON JUICE!"

She heard a merry voice squealing loudly in surprise, and she knew right away that voice belonged to Ty Lee. Embarrassed by it, she smacked her forehead and rubbed her face, as if to rub the embarrassment away—which didn't work of course.

Suddenly, something much more interesting reached her ears, which perked up by the conversation going on a few tables from hers. She leaned a tad back with her chair and eavesdropped on the tattlers, who had trickled on her curiosity.

"Who mugged you yesterday?" a girly voice asked, seemingly not liking to participate in that conversation.

The boy, the one who had gotten mugged apparently, snorted by her superfluous question, but answered it anyways. "I don't know who," he scoffed. "If I would have known who stole my tea-set, I would have already reported his sorry ass to the sheriff, don't you think?" he queried rhetorically, mocking the poor girl.

She heaved a shakily sigh, as though she didn't dare to speak up once more, but then arbitrated upon it anyhow. "How come you don't know?"

"Because—Because the culprit wore a mask, I couldn't see his face."

"What kind of mask?" Azula prodded questioningly, already turned her chair around to face the two gossipers.

She rose up from her chair, ambling towards them, swaying her hips seductively, making the boy blush at the attention. Whilst the girl was eyeing her warily, frowning bitterly at her flame-shaped hair clip and her Fire Nation attire, which the boy didn't care about, he was solely fascinated by her beautiful and sharp features. He got whacked by the girl on the back of his hand, forcing him to jump out of his daze and he rubbed the spot absent-mindedly to ease the sore.

"Well, it was—," he started to depict the mask, but received a hard stab in the ribs by the girl's elbow. He cried out of pain again. "Ouch, what the hell did you do that for?"

She stared wide-eyed at him for his ignorance and stupidity, and goggled suspiciously at Azula while whispering in the boy's ear.

"She's Fire Nation, dummy!" she hissed bitterly through gritted teeth. "How can you trust her like that?"

"What do you mean 'trust'? How can describing the mask can be useful to her for conquering the Earth Kingdom, huh?" he whispered back with much sarcasm. "It's not like she's going to—,"

She blew out a puff of frustration as she overheard their mindless and useless bickering over something so idiotic of how she, of all people, can be inauspicious—the nerve to even have that thought occurred in that girl's head. She ought to tone her down and teach her how to show respect to her superiors, even if she did have to shut her tramp with brutal actions. Torture,… she would like to do so, it had been too long since she revelled in the pleasure of mutilating someone.

"Ugh, spare me the yapping, please," she said softly, rolling her eyes to the back of her head. "Just tell me how the mask looked like."

"Well, it was a creepy mask, I must say," the boy began to tell, deliberately ignoring his friend's glare at him for being such a moron and for being so gullible of the Princess. "It had black, deep eyes and probing teeth with sharp ends. It was also painted with different shades of blue and white."

Azula groaned. "Like the Blue Spirit," she muttered more to herself, but the two could hear her barely audible voice.

The boy piped up. "Yeah, like the Blue Spirit. Correct," he repeated her remark, and then his eyes widened horrified at the recent discovery. "Like the Blue Spirit! Oh my, I got mugged by the Blue Spirit!" he exclaimed stunned, grabbing the girl's shoulders and rocking her back and forth harshly. "Didn't you hear me?! I got mugged by the Blue Spirit!"

The girl only uttered a 'yeah, yeah', while she desperately attempted to release herself from the boy's clinging, as she was completely mad by him for disobeying her and for making her look like a fool and deliberately not listening to her.

Azula, having had enough of this useless drama, returned to her seat rapidly, not bearing to be in the presence of these two baboons any longer, or she would literally die from embarrassment and boredom right then and there. She saw Mai, with a cup of water in her hand and sipping from it occasionally, and Ty Lee, grasping her watermelon juice tightly while slurping from its straw.

She smirked at them maliciously, which even scared Mai tremendously, however, she would never show it though.

"We're going," was all she said, while she already began to march away.

Hurriedly, Ty Lee and Mai followed her suit as though they were mere puppy dogs, Mai still expressionless and Ty Lee wondering aloud.

"Why do we have to go so suddenly?"

"Because." Azula sneered, stopping in her tracks abruptly. "I just found out that the Blue Spirit is nearby. So, we're going hunting."

With that said, she dashed through the doors, making them fly back and forth, and Mai shrugging at Ty Lee who was arching an eyebrow at her. But they knew better than to disobey Azula's orders and ran after her without further questions.

The sun was setting low, near the horizontal line which divided the sky and the Earth, marking the beginning of dusk. The sky was beautifully painted with different shades of orange and red, and a few splashes of purple. The last remaining rays of sunshine illuminated the setting tents by Ty Lee—who was actually forced by Azula. Princess Azula had her own private tent, made of the finest fabric and the best sleeping bag—although she was already irritated with the fact she had to sleep in a sleeping bag for once, but she would manage, while Ty and Mai slept together in the neighbour tent.

"Ugh, these sheets are itchy," Ty Lee lamented, frowning and scratching every spot she felt itch, which was almost everywhere on her body.

Mai pulled her sheet over head annoyed. "Whatever, Ty, just try to get some sleep," she spoke on a soft tone, relating to Ty's problem, but not feeling in the mood to complain as her or do something about the matter.

Ty sat up, so she could scratch her back a little better, and she smiled content and goofy when she did so. "Oh yes," she sighed. "This feels so much better," she cheered to herself, while Mai groaned at her for keeping her awake, but Ty didn't take any notice of it. "Oh yeah, that's the spot, aaah."

Cursing under her breath, Mai stood up with her pillow underneath her arm pit, and walked out of the tent.

Ty Lee frowned. "Mai, what are you doing?" she inquired, with a weird look plastered on her face.

"Outside," she replied shortly and to the point. "To get some sleep." Then she closed the flap of the tent and lied down next to the campfire a little further away from their tents, closing her eyes and dozing off.

When the night had completely taken over, the full moon illuminating the forest they were currently napping and the stars as their humble guides, Mai fluttered her eyes open at the sound of rumbling. She rubbed her eyes absent-mindedly and saw a blurry vision of a teenage boy rummaging through their sacks. As realization (a boy was stealing from them!) hit her, she pulled out one of her daggers and threw the metal blade at him, pinning him with his sleeve at the tree, which made her excited for having to do something at last.

"Do you know who you're dealing with?" she asked venomously, opposing herself as a threat to the thief she captured.

When he didn't respond, she took a few steps closer in his direction, and her eyes widened in shock as she saw the mask of the Blue Spirit. Without further thought, she sprinted to Azula's tent to warn the girl of her captive.

She knew for certain Azula would be pleased with her.

"He was here."

"You captured the Blue Spirit?!" Ty Lee beam baffled. "You are so cool!"

A little victorious smirk was painted on Mai's lips, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. She stuffed her hands in her long, black sleeves. "Yes," she spoke, again with her dull tone. "He was trying to steal from us, but I pinned him with one of my daggers to a tree."

Azula narrowed her eyes at her angrily. "Then where is he?!" she spat the words like the deadliest poison in Mai's face—who didn't change her facial expression because of it, while Ty closed one eye frightened.

"If you so-called caught him, then how come there's no-one attached to a tree?!" Azula crossed her arms in front of her chest-armour, glaring at Mai, challenging her to respond. But the girl knew better than to counter Azula. "You failed me Mai. You shouldn't have left him alone," she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose thoughtfully. "Well, if he just escaped, then he couldn't have gotten far."

She glanced around to scan the landscape for any tracks of her prey and noticed two possible ways where the Blue Spirit had run off to.

"Here's the deal: you two go left and I'll go right," she said. "And this time, he won't escape me!"

A while later, she reached a clearing and moved her golden orbs on the lookout for any movement. She saw none and heard nothing, only the soft wind breeze and rustle against the branches of the high trees surrounding her. Displeased, she shook her head and decided to return to camp and go look for more tracks the next day, when there would be more light and when she would be fully awake.

The moment she had turned, she heard a thump landing behind her and she felt the cool edge of two blades nestling against her throat. She tried to look who was standing behind her, wielding the blades, but she knew for sure it was the infamous Blue Spirit.

"Stop following me if you treasure your life," he said to her, and she realised he changed his voice on purpose to prevent to be recognizable to her in any sort of way.

She raised an eyebrow, clearly amused at his attempt at threatening. "Silly boy," she chuckled viciously. "You are in no position to threaten me."

She noticed the dual swords were shaking a smidge, so that meant the boy was shaking himself, probably trying to maintain his cool and strong composure. When the swords had a bit distance to her exposed flesh, she saw her window of opportunity and shoved the blades further away for her, and then she crouched down to swing her leg around to floor her prey.

When he lied down on the ground, stunned and baffled at what had just occurred, she smirked smugly while she kept him nailed to the floor by pushing on his chest with her foot. She flicked her fingers and a little blue flame was wavering at the tip of her finger.

"Don't worry," she said softly as she looked down at him, and her diabolically smirk stretched. "It will be over soon."

At first, she noticed with pure satisfaction that he was flinching at her leaning forward to him, meaning he was scared of her—which he ought to be, according to her. But then, she raised an eyebrow, a peculiar feeling twisting in her stomach. She never felt this churning when she was about to torture or kill someone, she was merciless, never felt any guilt or doubt, she was the great Princess of the Fire Nation.

And yet, this creature, humble and afraid for his life, did something to her. How come, was an enigma, but a beautiful one at it. She would never admit this out loud, but there was something about him that intrigued when she was so close to his face. His mask was so… fascinating, to say the least. It was so eerie, so hollow, and so Water Tribeish due to the white and blue paint, for her taste, and yet she was attracted by it. His body was well-built—as she could see even with his clothing—tall, lean, muscular. She estimated his age to be a few years; one, two, three perhaps, older than her and somehow, he came familiar to her, but she shrugged the notice away.

She placed her hand on the mask's chubby cheek and murmured. "Who is underneath your mask?" She squinted, as though she could see through the cover up, and her other hand, that was lying absent-mindedly on his chest, trailed up to his other cheek. As she was about to pull off his mask and reveal his true identity, he stopped her by grabbing her wrists.

"Don't," he begged, his voice cracking.

She smiled, tugging her wrists loose gently and whispered. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to harm you," she spoke reassuringly and replaced her hands on both his cheeks.

She heaved up the mask, just above his nose, and noticed how his chest was heaving up and down. She brought her lips closer to his and observed how a small blush was tingling his cheeks. Just as she was about to press her red-painted lips to his, a gasp was emitted from his parted mouth, his hot breath touching her goose-bumped face and she enjoyed the warm prickling.

Then someone interfered her, when their lips were about to meet.

"Azula! Where are you?!"

She swore under her breath, realising what she was just about to do, sat back up and whipped her head around in annoyance. "I'm right here!" she shouted back, probably to Ty Lee, and spoke to the Blue Spirit in her regular self again—viciously thus. "Well, I guess I should return to killi—," she stopped mid-sentence, as she regarded only grass next to her.

He had escaped her for the second time, just when things were getting interesting.

When they walked back to camp again, to try to fall in slumber for the night being, Ty Lee was trudging next to Mai and behind Azula, who was still stark raving mad for giving the Blue Spirit an opportunity to get away… again.

"I believe they haven't given the Blue Spirit enough credit," Ty Lee remarked casually. "I mean—even we couldn't catch him and that is imposs—,"

But she was rewarded by a jet of blue flames from Azula, and she gulped, and decided she should better be quiet until the next day.

A/N: I hope I entertained you guys with this.