Cog In The Machine - Chapter 17
Okay, peeps. If there *are* any peeps out there any more ^_^... Cog is probably my favorite of my own unfinished stories, and I did manage to be inspired enough to eek out another chapter. I'll be posting it up on ff.net tomorrow or maybe Sunday. In the meantime, for you to critique...
Chapter 17
Sokka had actually gotten a reasonably good account on the workings of the Fire Nation Navy’s trebuchets from Aang. After all, Aang had spent the better part of a day wrecking any number of the machines back at the North Pole. Sokka had also seized the opportunity to row a kayak out to the remains of one boat to see for himself, so Ty Lee’s tour held nothing new for him. He pretended interest, however, and refrained from pointing out the obvious errors she made in explaining their operation to him, such as mistaking the brake for the release lever. He did pay attention to the location of the wheel that, when spun, controlled the counterbalancing mechanism that raised the giant weapon’s platform up from storage below deck, noting that it was held in position purely by a pin through its spokes.
He also noticed that his guard, while far enough away to allow them a modicum of private conversation - yeah, apparently he too saw Sokka as Ty Lee’s boy-toy, which really made Sokka cringe - was still close enough to prove an effective deterrent to any attempt to run away. A girl who could paralyze your legs with two jabs and a guard who could incinerate you from ten feet away with little more than a gesture. Sokka considered rather wryly that Azula’s confidence in his remaining a prisoner was certainly well-founded.
He’d like to hope it actually signaled overconfidence and was something that could be worked against her. At some point, maybe it could.
“…but the stench is really something awful!” Ty Lee finished cheerfully.
“And it’s not so great to be on the receiving end either,” he responded, carefully holding down memories. “Tell me, Brat. Have you ever been on the hurtin’ end of your country’s confrontational habits?”
Her eyes clouded and brow furrowed as Ty Lee’s full lower lip extended in something of a pout. He ignored a temptation to nibble at its plumpness. “If you’re smart, Sokka, you do your best to stay on the other end. I pay close attention to what the universe is telling me, and it keeps my skin whole. You should too.”
He was surprised at the earnest note in her voice. It belied the playfulness she usually put forth, and Sokka found himself struck with yet another element to complicate his already rather compromised assessment of this particular jailor.
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Azula was involved with reading the latest day’s reports, both from scouts she’d sent out herself from the regiment under her command and the news sent her by message-hawk from the myriad of commanders she had, over time, suborned to her will. There was, thankfully, nothing from her father directly, although the daily report from her personal household was always enlightening as to the goings on in the capital. She was most interested in word from Ba Sing Se though. The courier should be arriving there soon with the Tribesman’s tunic, and he had a message hawk with him to get word back to her of the Avatar’s reaction as soon as possible. It took all her discipline to focus on the day’s routine. With a twist of her lips Azula acknowledged to herself that much of her inspiration to bring Sokka up on deck in the first place was out of a desire for pure distraction. Pity she couldn’t have thought of a good reason to keep him around for further distraction.
Mai had left the breakfast table to adjourn back below decks to the weapons practice room. She would have a good hour before the next scheduled training session for crew members, and she intended to use at least part of that time with the boomerang again. As long as she had the room to herself and, when someone did see her with it she didn’t attempt to hide it, it was unlikely that Azula would get wind of it. The crew was used to watching her workout with various weapons, and she was known to keep to herself when not with the princess or Ty Lee. Mai found it easier to think when she was training, and she hoped to find a reasonable means to drag Sokka back down there for another lesson some time before the day was out. Perhaps the synergy of working out with Sokka’s weapon would inspire her.
Neither girl bothered to think about what Ty Lee would do with Sokka after their little stroll together. Ty Lee was predictable and notably impatient. For once, neither girl felt any prurient interest in ascertaining whether or not such haste would be, in this particular case, rewarded.
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“I don’t get it. If one of us was to wise-ass to her highness like that there’d be nothing left but a grease spot on the deck to clean up. Thing is, the kid’s gotta know he’s flirting with death, but it doesn’t stop him. And he’s no better with Lady Ty Lee. Oh yeah, she’s got a soft spot for him, no doubt. And why she should choose him over the fine Fire Nation specimens we got on board is beyond me. ‘Course, maybe she got bored with ‘em. That’s women for you. Treat ‘em right and you’re dirt beneath their feet, but act like you don’t give a damn and they’re all over you. Damn, though, you shoulda been there. I swear he’s doing everything he can to get a rise outta her highness, all the time ignoring her being her usual nasty self - but all she does is talk nasty! If I didn’t know better, I’d think maybe she was as interested getting him to bed her as her ladyship. But naw. The princess ain’t gonna stoop to such as him, even for a lark. Fire Lord’ud kill her, he would, if he ever heard such a thing. ‘S one thing for the Lady Ty Lee to run around like that - her family’s always been on the wild side. Something else again to think her highness would carry on with a Water Tribesman.” The guardsman snuffled noisily at his drink. It was the third of the evening purchased for him by his fellows, eager for a first-hand account of the goings on between the prisoner and their noble fare.
“Better than a play, you know?” Said one, who’d spent most of his career with the Royal Navy within easy reach of the capital and its entertainments. “I tell you, once these nobles get off the leash it’s unheard of what they’ll get up to.”
“Don’t you go saying anything bad about Lady Ty Lee,” said one young stalwart who’d received something in the way of attentions from the lady in question. “She’s a goddess, and not bound by common rules.”
“None of them are, and more’s the problem,” grizzled an elder in the corner. “But I gotta admit, her highness and the ladies are a match for any ten of us. Guess that earns them the right to do what they want iffen their birth doesn’t.”
“So what’s the deal with the Water Tribesman? I mean, I know he travels with the Avatar, but what makes him special?” this time it was the young man from the galley. He’d bought the guardsman his first drink, still glum about Ty Lee’s obvious preferment of Sokka over him.
“Ah, it’s just the romance of the thing, you know?” said the chef. It was his first time joining the ranks for drinks, but the last twenty-four hours had been particularly hard for him, and he saw promise in his apprentice that he did not want thwarted love to extinguish. “He’s a stranger from a strange land, not ill-looking and well-built. He’s a challenge to their charms. Women are foolish that way.” He eyed his junior’s form and blessed the fate that had seen fit to throw a spoke in the wheel of early infatuations. He still had a chance to work with this boy, in more ways that one.
----------------------------------------
From the trebuchets Ty Lee led him on up to the bow, with its signature hinged cowling that, when lowered, provided a ramp down which troops could be marched from the ships’ lower decks. This was one of the odder innovations to ship design that the Fire Nation had wrought. Besides men and materiel, Sokka envisioned how the ramp could facilitate the shipping of goods to ports that didn’t boast large piers or towering cranes. Were these ramps unique to military ships?
But Ty Lee wasn’t interested in answering questions that had nothing to do with her. She had brought him here because the backsweep of the cowling cast the end of the bow in pretty much perpetual shadow. She knew that it would be much harder for Azula or Mai up on the center-deck dais to observe them in this dimness, especially since she had deliberately left one of the trebuchets still out on the foredeck. Oh sure, the guard could still see them from his position leaning against one of the machine’s uprights. But he had the decency to stay at a reasonable distance, and had turned his head so he wasn’t looking straight at them anymore. Ty Lee giggled. One of the benefits of having a rather “aggressive” reputation was that men who embarrassed easily tended to try to ignore her. And generally that suited her just fine.
She had, of course, noticed that Sokka’s attention was not fully on her. He was far too busy taking note of the numbers of men on deck and their positioning. That was fine with her. He would certainly come to the conclusion that escape was hopeless, and then perhaps he would dispense with this nonsense about negotiating with her. In the meantime, she would happily continue to disabuse him regarding any chance he might be willing to take by demonstrating this ship’s forces in all their glory.
Azula would be proud of her.
Of course, while she was intimidating him she would also try to interrogate him, and if that degenerated into a bit of nip and tickle well, did anyone really expect anything else? Ty Lee shivered a bit in anticipation, inadvertently squeezing Sokka’s arm a bit more tightly.
“You cold, Brat? Let’s go back in the sun, then. The view’s lousy tucked away in here anyway.”
“Well, that was hardly flattering,” She pouted and refused to budge. Moving out into the sun would defeat the purpose of their being there in the first place.
“Huh? Oh, cause you’re the view. Hah, like I’m gonna say something nice to you.” Sokka shrugged, but he didn’t try to pull away. It was really rather pleasant to have a pretty girl press all her soft, delicious curves against him, even if she was Fire Nation and making some kind of ownership claim on his ass.
“You should, though.” Ty Lee said with a smile. “After all, without me you’d be back down in that smelly old cell, you wouldn’t have gotten dinner at all last night, and if you’re not very nice indeed you probably won’t get dinner.”
“Oh. Well, when you put it like that…” Sokka rolled his eyes, then dramatically bent the clutched arm across his chest, bringing her slightly in front of him, and covered one of those clutching hands gently with his own, delicately stroking it. “My Lady, if you will continue to brighten our shelter with your loveliness I will warm you with my affection.”
“Ooh! That was quite prettily said. I thought you were supposed to be some kind of barbarian,” she cooed, removing one hand from his arm as she leaned back provocatively, reaching up to touch his chin with her index finger. “Not that I don’t think the barbarian thing has a lot going for it.”
“It’s all bullshit, you know,” he said, stepping back against the cowling into deeper shadow away from her. “You can’t believe anything I say because I’m bound to hate you. It’s just the way things have to be.”
“So you say. I don’t believe it, though.” Ty Lee’s cheerfulness did not falter. “I mean, if you really didn’t care you wouldn’t bother to warn me against you, now would you? You’d just try to take the opportunity to seduce me and then chance an escape.”
Sokka stayed silent, stone-faced. It was definitely a possibility he’d considered. Still was considering, truth be told.
“And you’d end up dead. If the guards didn’t get you and you jumped overboard the fall would probably kill you. Azula got knocked overboard once apparently and it took her weeks to recover. The ship was riding a lot lower in the water then because we had all that equipment for the Drill on board. Even if you didn’t die you’d never get away and I’d have a lot harder time trying to protect you.” She smiled sweetly. “So let’s just forget about the escape part and go right to the seduction.”
“You’re no fun at all.” Sokka grimaced. Ty Lee had a way of putting him off-balance that he couldn’t seem to adjust to. “Don’t you realize that you pursuing me so hard is really doing a number on my manly pride? I’m supposed to be the hunter, not the other way around.”
Sokka whined a bit; he didn’t want her to think he was being entirely serious. Whining was a great way to make people discount you.
“Stop worrying about that. Your silly Water Tribe pride probably wouldn’t have let you pursue me anyway. Just let your pride be stroked by my interest in you. I don’t chase just anybody, you know.”
“I’m supposed to take your word on that, I suppose. But nothing’s changed, Brat. I notice you said if I weren’t here with you I’d be back in that cell. Thought we had a deal. You offered me more comfortable accommodations. Seems to me if I don’t hold out for that I lose all my bargaining power. You are still serious about us… doing stuff together, aren’t you?” He was just about ready to give up. But not on the escape part. She was dead wrong on that, at least.
“Mmm, yes. Stuff! And then maybe some more stuff!” Ty Lee’s eyes twinkled merrily. He may be trying to play tough but he couldn’t bring himself to actually admit to what his side of the bargain actually was. This awkward shyness was extremely appealing, but she hoped he’d drop it soon in favor of that ravening wolf who had kissed her so thoroughly the day before. Dangerous Sokka was terribly sexy.
Of course, maybe this wasn’t the place for Dangerous Sokka. It might give that guard over there reason to put a tighter leash on him, or report as much to Azula. And that wouldn’t be good. After all, whichever role he played he was probably still insisting on getting out of that damned cell for good. Ty Lee had some ideas on that front, but they required Azula assuming Sokka was cowed enough by Fire Nation might to behave himself.
Maybe she should just tell him as much. After all, they both had the same goals in mind, didn’t they? “C’mon, Handsome. The point is you’re not in that cell. And I think I said that it was thanks to you’re being with me that you aren’t locked up. So you should be making an effort to stay with me, silly.”
Sokka swallowed thickly. Unlike him, Ty Lee was not operating off imagination or illustrated manuscripts. Had she just offered him space in her cabin instead of the cell? Did she really think Azula would accept such an arrangement? Ty Lee had surprised him by demonstrating that she was not nearly as empty-headed as he had assumed, and that her perspective might also be rather more broad regarding the consequences of the Fire Nation road to conquest. The fact that she clearly still wanted him to… attend to her hadn’t changed with these realizations, but the whole situation had taken on somewhat shaded colors now.
He mentally kicked himself. He’d been on the verge of succumbing to her charms, convinced he could assert his own will over her if necessary and effect his escape. They’d fought before, so he shouldn’t have felt any particular guilt if the need for some measure of violence was called for.
The truth was he really didn’t want to hurt Ty Lee if he could help it. Or, for that matter, be hurt by her, he had the grace to admit to himself. So yeah, he felt guilt contemplating what he had been about to do. At the same time, the fact that she was smarter than he’d thought was a bit chilling to those charitable feelings. The girl had played him from the very beginning for her own ends. And the fact that she may well have felt her own pain or losses only reinforced her position as one of Azula’s minions.
It was highly unlikely that they shared any particular goals, except maybe keeping him alive for a while longer.
Sokka thought a bit about that. Guilt, he discovered, was a somewhat friable concept.
Ty Lee had been right that he did care. Oh, not so much that he cared about her, but he definitely cared a lot about his own self-image. Bamboozling an empty-headed ditz who had the ill luck but good taste to fall for him was facially reprehensible. Less so if said ditz was a canny enemy whose only goals were to satisfy her own selfish aims. In the latter case, guilt probably didn’t have a place. So why was it that he still felt bad?
Back up a bit. There was still the question as to whether Azula would swallow his acquiescence to dangling from Ty Lee’s leash. This would be necessary in order for her to allow him out of lock-up. Ugh. If he wanted out of that cell, it appeared he had no choice.
Yes, there was no doubt about it. Ty Lee had played him. Funny thing was, he had the distinct impression she’d also played Princess Azula.
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And yeah, methinks there are no more innocents abroad...
Chapter 17
Sokka had actually gotten a reasonably good account on the workings of the Fire Nation Navy’s trebuchets from Aang. After all, Aang had spent the better part of a day wrecking any number of the machines back at the North Pole. Sokka had also seized the opportunity to row a kayak out to the remains of one boat to see for himself, so Ty Lee’s tour held nothing new for him. He pretended interest, however, and refrained from pointing out the obvious errors she made in explaining their operation to him, such as mistaking the brake for the release lever. He did pay attention to the location of the wheel that, when spun, controlled the counterbalancing mechanism that raised the giant weapon’s platform up from storage below deck, noting that it was held in position purely by a pin through its spokes.
He also noticed that his guard, while far enough away to allow them a modicum of private conversation - yeah, apparently he too saw Sokka as Ty Lee’s boy-toy, which really made Sokka cringe - was still close enough to prove an effective deterrent to any attempt to run away. A girl who could paralyze your legs with two jabs and a guard who could incinerate you from ten feet away with little more than a gesture. Sokka considered rather wryly that Azula’s confidence in his remaining a prisoner was certainly well-founded.
He’d like to hope it actually signaled overconfidence and was something that could be worked against her. At some point, maybe it could.
“…but the stench is really something awful!” Ty Lee finished cheerfully.
“And it’s not so great to be on the receiving end either,” he responded, carefully holding down memories. “Tell me, Brat. Have you ever been on the hurtin’ end of your country’s confrontational habits?”
Her eyes clouded and brow furrowed as Ty Lee’s full lower lip extended in something of a pout. He ignored a temptation to nibble at its plumpness. “If you’re smart, Sokka, you do your best to stay on the other end. I pay close attention to what the universe is telling me, and it keeps my skin whole. You should too.”
He was surprised at the earnest note in her voice. It belied the playfulness she usually put forth, and Sokka found himself struck with yet another element to complicate his already rather compromised assessment of this particular jailor.
--------------------------
Azula was involved with reading the latest day’s reports, both from scouts she’d sent out herself from the regiment under her command and the news sent her by message-hawk from the myriad of commanders she had, over time, suborned to her will. There was, thankfully, nothing from her father directly, although the daily report from her personal household was always enlightening as to the goings on in the capital. She was most interested in word from Ba Sing Se though. The courier should be arriving there soon with the Tribesman’s tunic, and he had a message hawk with him to get word back to her of the Avatar’s reaction as soon as possible. It took all her discipline to focus on the day’s routine. With a twist of her lips Azula acknowledged to herself that much of her inspiration to bring Sokka up on deck in the first place was out of a desire for pure distraction. Pity she couldn’t have thought of a good reason to keep him around for further distraction.
Mai had left the breakfast table to adjourn back below decks to the weapons practice room. She would have a good hour before the next scheduled training session for crew members, and she intended to use at least part of that time with the boomerang again. As long as she had the room to herself and, when someone did see her with it she didn’t attempt to hide it, it was unlikely that Azula would get wind of it. The crew was used to watching her workout with various weapons, and she was known to keep to herself when not with the princess or Ty Lee. Mai found it easier to think when she was training, and she hoped to find a reasonable means to drag Sokka back down there for another lesson some time before the day was out. Perhaps the synergy of working out with Sokka’s weapon would inspire her.
Neither girl bothered to think about what Ty Lee would do with Sokka after their little stroll together. Ty Lee was predictable and notably impatient. For once, neither girl felt any prurient interest in ascertaining whether or not such haste would be, in this particular case, rewarded.
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“I don’t get it. If one of us was to wise-ass to her highness like that there’d be nothing left but a grease spot on the deck to clean up. Thing is, the kid’s gotta know he’s flirting with death, but it doesn’t stop him. And he’s no better with Lady Ty Lee. Oh yeah, she’s got a soft spot for him, no doubt. And why she should choose him over the fine Fire Nation specimens we got on board is beyond me. ‘Course, maybe she got bored with ‘em. That’s women for you. Treat ‘em right and you’re dirt beneath their feet, but act like you don’t give a damn and they’re all over you. Damn, though, you shoulda been there. I swear he’s doing everything he can to get a rise outta her highness, all the time ignoring her being her usual nasty self - but all she does is talk nasty! If I didn’t know better, I’d think maybe she was as interested getting him to bed her as her ladyship. But naw. The princess ain’t gonna stoop to such as him, even for a lark. Fire Lord’ud kill her, he would, if he ever heard such a thing. ‘S one thing for the Lady Ty Lee to run around like that - her family’s always been on the wild side. Something else again to think her highness would carry on with a Water Tribesman.” The guardsman snuffled noisily at his drink. It was the third of the evening purchased for him by his fellows, eager for a first-hand account of the goings on between the prisoner and their noble fare.
“Better than a play, you know?” Said one, who’d spent most of his career with the Royal Navy within easy reach of the capital and its entertainments. “I tell you, once these nobles get off the leash it’s unheard of what they’ll get up to.”
“Don’t you go saying anything bad about Lady Ty Lee,” said one young stalwart who’d received something in the way of attentions from the lady in question. “She’s a goddess, and not bound by common rules.”
“None of them are, and more’s the problem,” grizzled an elder in the corner. “But I gotta admit, her highness and the ladies are a match for any ten of us. Guess that earns them the right to do what they want iffen their birth doesn’t.”
“So what’s the deal with the Water Tribesman? I mean, I know he travels with the Avatar, but what makes him special?” this time it was the young man from the galley. He’d bought the guardsman his first drink, still glum about Ty Lee’s obvious preferment of Sokka over him.
“Ah, it’s just the romance of the thing, you know?” said the chef. It was his first time joining the ranks for drinks, but the last twenty-four hours had been particularly hard for him, and he saw promise in his apprentice that he did not want thwarted love to extinguish. “He’s a stranger from a strange land, not ill-looking and well-built. He’s a challenge to their charms. Women are foolish that way.” He eyed his junior’s form and blessed the fate that had seen fit to throw a spoke in the wheel of early infatuations. He still had a chance to work with this boy, in more ways that one.
----------------------------------------
From the trebuchets Ty Lee led him on up to the bow, with its signature hinged cowling that, when lowered, provided a ramp down which troops could be marched from the ships’ lower decks. This was one of the odder innovations to ship design that the Fire Nation had wrought. Besides men and materiel, Sokka envisioned how the ramp could facilitate the shipping of goods to ports that didn’t boast large piers or towering cranes. Were these ramps unique to military ships?
But Ty Lee wasn’t interested in answering questions that had nothing to do with her. She had brought him here because the backsweep of the cowling cast the end of the bow in pretty much perpetual shadow. She knew that it would be much harder for Azula or Mai up on the center-deck dais to observe them in this dimness, especially since she had deliberately left one of the trebuchets still out on the foredeck. Oh sure, the guard could still see them from his position leaning against one of the machine’s uprights. But he had the decency to stay at a reasonable distance, and had turned his head so he wasn’t looking straight at them anymore. Ty Lee giggled. One of the benefits of having a rather “aggressive” reputation was that men who embarrassed easily tended to try to ignore her. And generally that suited her just fine.
She had, of course, noticed that Sokka’s attention was not fully on her. He was far too busy taking note of the numbers of men on deck and their positioning. That was fine with her. He would certainly come to the conclusion that escape was hopeless, and then perhaps he would dispense with this nonsense about negotiating with her. In the meantime, she would happily continue to disabuse him regarding any chance he might be willing to take by demonstrating this ship’s forces in all their glory.
Azula would be proud of her.
Of course, while she was intimidating him she would also try to interrogate him, and if that degenerated into a bit of nip and tickle well, did anyone really expect anything else? Ty Lee shivered a bit in anticipation, inadvertently squeezing Sokka’s arm a bit more tightly.
“You cold, Brat? Let’s go back in the sun, then. The view’s lousy tucked away in here anyway.”
“Well, that was hardly flattering,” She pouted and refused to budge. Moving out into the sun would defeat the purpose of their being there in the first place.
“Huh? Oh, cause you’re the view. Hah, like I’m gonna say something nice to you.” Sokka shrugged, but he didn’t try to pull away. It was really rather pleasant to have a pretty girl press all her soft, delicious curves against him, even if she was Fire Nation and making some kind of ownership claim on his ass.
“You should, though.” Ty Lee said with a smile. “After all, without me you’d be back down in that smelly old cell, you wouldn’t have gotten dinner at all last night, and if you’re not very nice indeed you probably won’t get dinner.”
“Oh. Well, when you put it like that…” Sokka rolled his eyes, then dramatically bent the clutched arm across his chest, bringing her slightly in front of him, and covered one of those clutching hands gently with his own, delicately stroking it. “My Lady, if you will continue to brighten our shelter with your loveliness I will warm you with my affection.”
“Ooh! That was quite prettily said. I thought you were supposed to be some kind of barbarian,” she cooed, removing one hand from his arm as she leaned back provocatively, reaching up to touch his chin with her index finger. “Not that I don’t think the barbarian thing has a lot going for it.”
“It’s all bullshit, you know,” he said, stepping back against the cowling into deeper shadow away from her. “You can’t believe anything I say because I’m bound to hate you. It’s just the way things have to be.”
“So you say. I don’t believe it, though.” Ty Lee’s cheerfulness did not falter. “I mean, if you really didn’t care you wouldn’t bother to warn me against you, now would you? You’d just try to take the opportunity to seduce me and then chance an escape.”
Sokka stayed silent, stone-faced. It was definitely a possibility he’d considered. Still was considering, truth be told.
“And you’d end up dead. If the guards didn’t get you and you jumped overboard the fall would probably kill you. Azula got knocked overboard once apparently and it took her weeks to recover. The ship was riding a lot lower in the water then because we had all that equipment for the Drill on board. Even if you didn’t die you’d never get away and I’d have a lot harder time trying to protect you.” She smiled sweetly. “So let’s just forget about the escape part and go right to the seduction.”
“You’re no fun at all.” Sokka grimaced. Ty Lee had a way of putting him off-balance that he couldn’t seem to adjust to. “Don’t you realize that you pursuing me so hard is really doing a number on my manly pride? I’m supposed to be the hunter, not the other way around.”
Sokka whined a bit; he didn’t want her to think he was being entirely serious. Whining was a great way to make people discount you.
“Stop worrying about that. Your silly Water Tribe pride probably wouldn’t have let you pursue me anyway. Just let your pride be stroked by my interest in you. I don’t chase just anybody, you know.”
“I’m supposed to take your word on that, I suppose. But nothing’s changed, Brat. I notice you said if I weren’t here with you I’d be back in that cell. Thought we had a deal. You offered me more comfortable accommodations. Seems to me if I don’t hold out for that I lose all my bargaining power. You are still serious about us… doing stuff together, aren’t you?” He was just about ready to give up. But not on the escape part. She was dead wrong on that, at least.
“Mmm, yes. Stuff! And then maybe some more stuff!” Ty Lee’s eyes twinkled merrily. He may be trying to play tough but he couldn’t bring himself to actually admit to what his side of the bargain actually was. This awkward shyness was extremely appealing, but she hoped he’d drop it soon in favor of that ravening wolf who had kissed her so thoroughly the day before. Dangerous Sokka was terribly sexy.
Of course, maybe this wasn’t the place for Dangerous Sokka. It might give that guard over there reason to put a tighter leash on him, or report as much to Azula. And that wouldn’t be good. After all, whichever role he played he was probably still insisting on getting out of that damned cell for good. Ty Lee had some ideas on that front, but they required Azula assuming Sokka was cowed enough by Fire Nation might to behave himself.
Maybe she should just tell him as much. After all, they both had the same goals in mind, didn’t they? “C’mon, Handsome. The point is you’re not in that cell. And I think I said that it was thanks to you’re being with me that you aren’t locked up. So you should be making an effort to stay with me, silly.”
Sokka swallowed thickly. Unlike him, Ty Lee was not operating off imagination or illustrated manuscripts. Had she just offered him space in her cabin instead of the cell? Did she really think Azula would accept such an arrangement? Ty Lee had surprised him by demonstrating that she was not nearly as empty-headed as he had assumed, and that her perspective might also be rather more broad regarding the consequences of the Fire Nation road to conquest. The fact that she clearly still wanted him to… attend to her hadn’t changed with these realizations, but the whole situation had taken on somewhat shaded colors now.
He mentally kicked himself. He’d been on the verge of succumbing to her charms, convinced he could assert his own will over her if necessary and effect his escape. They’d fought before, so he shouldn’t have felt any particular guilt if the need for some measure of violence was called for.
The truth was he really didn’t want to hurt Ty Lee if he could help it. Or, for that matter, be hurt by her, he had the grace to admit to himself. So yeah, he felt guilt contemplating what he had been about to do. At the same time, the fact that she was smarter than he’d thought was a bit chilling to those charitable feelings. The girl had played him from the very beginning for her own ends. And the fact that she may well have felt her own pain or losses only reinforced her position as one of Azula’s minions.
It was highly unlikely that they shared any particular goals, except maybe keeping him alive for a while longer.
Sokka thought a bit about that. Guilt, he discovered, was a somewhat friable concept.
Ty Lee had been right that he did care. Oh, not so much that he cared about her, but he definitely cared a lot about his own self-image. Bamboozling an empty-headed ditz who had the ill luck but good taste to fall for him was facially reprehensible. Less so if said ditz was a canny enemy whose only goals were to satisfy her own selfish aims. In the latter case, guilt probably didn’t have a place. So why was it that he still felt bad?
Back up a bit. There was still the question as to whether Azula would swallow his acquiescence to dangling from Ty Lee’s leash. This would be necessary in order for her to allow him out of lock-up. Ugh. If he wanted out of that cell, it appeared he had no choice.
Yes, there was no doubt about it. Ty Lee had played him. Funny thing was, he had the distinct impression she’d also played Princess Azula.
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And yeah, methinks there are no more innocents abroad...