#dragon!azula

Zuko meets tiny dragon!azula and the first thing he does is boop the nose. The picture cuts away right before Azula bites him.

For @stardust948 and their beautifully written dragon!Azula and Sokkla fic

Kya and Hakoda stumble upon a baby dragon who, after she shifts forms, they mistake for being a spirit or spirit cursed. Years later, Sokka follows them to a nearby a cave and finds a familiar half dragon eight year old.

"I'm a mighty dragon!"

I will admit to being a bit surprised when I got this, partially because of the topic, and partially because you sent this ask, I kid you not, less than 30 seconds after I reblogged it. I had to do a double take because it was so fast.

Anyways! Dragon!Azula - never been a huge fan of dragon AUs but this one, for some reason, has always been kind of interesting to me.

Once Azula turns into a dragon, Ozai is profoundly confused, both about how his daughter turned into a dragon in the first place, and what to do about the situation. On the one hand, Azula is already a powerful bender, and as a dragon she can only be more powerful - but then she might be powerful enough to challenge him. And he cannot accept that.

Azula, as a dragon, is actually fairly small, as dragons go, and rather than blue scales she actually has more of a purplish coloration.

Dragon!Azula is incredibly clumsy. I mean, she did go from a teenage girl who is like maybe 5'4" to a giant flying reptile. She has precisely no idea of what she's doing, and Zuko thinks it's absolutely hilarious to watch. Azula, however, is not amused.

Ty Lee, upon seeing that Azula has turned into a dragon, starts tying little bows on Azula's dragon horns. Azula indicates that is displeased by this, but if a dragon could blush, she would be blushing. A lot.

The moment she learns of their existence, she makes a beeline for the Sun Warriors - if anyone would know what to do with a dragon, it's probably them, or Iroh (the only person alive who is known to have experience with a dragon), and she sure isn't going to Iroh. The Sun Warriors are shocked enough that the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation shows up to their island riding a dragon; they're even more shocked to learn that that dragon is actually his sister, and she wasn't a dragon that long ago.

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The Jasmine Dragon is overwhelmingly serene. Tranquil to the point where it feels fake. It has changed since her last visit. The potted jasmines are substantially larger now, growing far out of their pots situated on the window sills and cascading alongside ivies to the floor below. Upon each table in an intermediately, is either a miniature potted jasmine or a small jade dragon figurine depending at which table one sits. Azula finds the dragon to be offensively anatomically incorrect. Strung across the ceiling is a slew of paper lanterns, green and creamy-yellow in color. Some of which have little jasmine flowers painted upon them. These lanterns are also new. There are also new rugs to go with the old one; although the long dark green run with the twin embroidered dragons is still the center of attention. At least these dragons look more authentic than the ones on the tabletops. 

Azula drums her fingers on the table. Being here the first time had not been a pleasant endeavor. Uncle had not been fond of her then and had only tolerated her presence with a knowingness that the city had been on the verge of getting rid of her in some way or another. Eating here had been something akin to a prisoner’s last meal. 

She supposes that, in some ways, it was. 

They had sentenced her to one of Ba Sing Se’s prisons. The Avatar had offered taking her on a quest to help them defeat spirits instead–even though the spirit infestation had nothing to do with Ba Sing Se.

In fact, they seemed to relish in the idea, deciding that she’s likely to die on this quest and that was good enough for the worst of them. The best of them kept quiet, either indifferent or afraid to speak a word of support for an enemy. 

A good portion of the worst of them, the very worst if she were to distinguish, were rooting for not only her collapse but the collapse of her nation with her–payback for the unrest they created in the world. A fitting end at the hands of the spirits who had been jostled and unsettled by the war. 

She still doesn’t like it here, especially now that people are starting to put two and two together; the Fire Lord and his friends are here, naturally he has brought his sister along. They are surprised to see her no doubt. And they aren’t alone in their surprise.

“You didn’t tell him that we were coming.” Azula’s grip tightens around the cup that Zuko has fixed for her.

“I thought that you were sending the letter.”

“Why would I!? He likes you, not me!” 

Zuko opens his mouth and closes it again several times before deciding on, “yeah, fine, I guess.” 

“The only thing less pleasant than unexpected company is the unexpected company of someone that you resent.”

“Uncle doesn’t resent you.”

“And I’m still a 400 foot tall purple platypus-bear with pink horns and silver wings.” She grumbles.

“You might eventually be 400 feet tall and you do have wings so there is some truth to that statement.” Sokka points out. 

“What about it?” Azula grumbles. 

“Maybe your uncle doesn’t resent you, maybe he is only mildly displeased with your existence but can tolerate it.”

“At least that sounds realistic.” 

She has herself another sip and watches mother brush her fingers over the jasmine petals. She wonders if her parents have ever had tea before. Wonders how many times her parents have taken on a human guise to explore the world, surely they must have at some point or another. They don’t seem daunted or confused by anything around them. In fact, father orders a cup of tea with some very specific instructions and very human particulars. Mother comes back to the table and hands her a small slice of custard cake topped with a helping of rosemary. 

“Thank you, mother.” 

“Of course.” The woman smiles. 

“Did you enjoy custard cake as a child?”

The woman nods. “Your father enjoys it much more though. He likes sweet things. I enjoy spice. The both of us enjoyed charred food.”

Azula crinkles her nose. Other Fire Nation nobility can say what they will of her, but she very much believes that foods can be overcooked. Anything burnt beyond golden brown loses its taste appeal. 

At this, mother laughs, “it is an acquired taste.”

“I don’t wish to acquire it.” 

And mother laughs again, a moment of respite before uncle finally emerges. He unties his apron and hangs it upon a wall hook as the last of his patrons leave. He fixes a closed sign into place and locks the door. 

“Sorry for the unexpected visit, but it’s really important.” Zuko greets.

“I always welcome a visit from you, nephew. Expected or otherwise.” The man pulls him into a hug. Although father doesn’t tighten his grip on Azula’s shoulder, it seems more pronounced in that moment. She meets uncle’s gaze as if to say that she doesn’t need his support. 

He pulls out of Zuko’s embrace, “I see that you’ve brought the whole team.”

Zuko nods. 

“We’re sort of here on business.” Aang mentions. 

“Avatar business?”

“More like a personal quest.” Mai shrugs.

“What sort of adventure have you all begun this time?” Iroh slips into a chair.

Sokka opens his mouth to answer but Azula takes this as her moment to cut in. The peace will be ruined eventually so she might as well make short work of it before the moment can become truly wholesome. “Uncle, I would like you to meet mother and father.” She gestures to the both of them and leaves a copious silence to dissect. 

She studies his expression, mostly his eyes, for a flicker of recognition. What she finds is a furrowing of his brows and a deeper crease on his forehead. Surely he knows, he has to know…

“Haven’t you met them?” She knows that he has. He has to have, who else would have taught him how to firebend the way that he does?

“I don’t believe that I have.” 

“You’re lying.” She replies plainly. 

“He has not met us in human form.” Ran speaks. He moves away from Azula to extend his hand to Iroh who takes it readily. “You have met us in the Sun Warrior capital city.” 

Now, looking directly into father’s eyes, recognition settles into Iroh’s own.

“You can take on human forms?”

“Indeed we can.” Shaw takes a sip from her teacup, her hand cups over Azula’s either protectively or lovingly. She thinks that the two might be one in the same. “And so can our daughter.” Her thumb rubs the back of Azula’s hand. 

And she knows that uncle has no idea.

That expression…she has only ever seen such confoundment on the faces of those around her when they’d first seen the scales erupting onto her skin. 

“She is yours?” Iroh asks. 

Shaw squeezes her hand.

“Is it that hard for you to fathom that someone can love me unconditionally, uncle? It must be terrible to know that I was born to two creatures that you respect the most. Afterall, how can the creatures who taught you how to firebend from a place of peace instead of destruction birth someone so cruel and hostile?” 

Iroh massages the bridge of his nose. “I never said that you were unlovable.” 

“You didn’t have to say it. I’m an observant person.” 

He sighs. 

“You think that I was born cruel, yes? How can I be anything else with Ozai as a father? Cruelty is in my blood. It’s hard to have such an adamant belief shattered, isn’t it?” 

“Niece…”

“Don’t pretend that you didn’t think so! And I am not your niece.” Thank the spirits for that. 

Shaw’s lips purse. “We taught you about the essence of fire and you treat our daughter with vitriol?” 

“I never believed that you were born any which way. I believed that your fa…my brother stole your morals before anyone else had a chance with you. He saw that spark in your eyes and he made sure that no one else could reach you before he did.” 

“And you didn’t try to help me?” She scoffs. “You didn’t find it strange that I just showed up? That Ursa was never pregnant with a second child?”

“My brother had her isolated for a very long while, I had assumed that it had something to do with a pregnancy and then both of them came home with a baby girl.”

Azula’s stomach lurches. 

“You hadn’t suspected a thing?”

“You had your…peculiarities but nothing so deviant that I would guess that you weren’t human.” He replies, taking a very generous swig of tea. 

“And yet you treated me like a monster.”

“Your father raised you to belittle your brother and he needed protection. From my brother and whatever he used to torment Zuko.”

Whatever. She is whatever. 

Just a tool. “I’m not a weapon!” She is tired of everyone treating her as such. Mother squeezes her hand tighter still. 

“We didn’t teach you of the essence of fire just for you to cower away.” Ran rumbles. 

“I used it to protect my nephew from an evil man. The same evil that stole your daughter and…”

“And what?” Azula mutters. “Ruined me, tainted me, turned me into something horrible…” A monster. 

“And abused her.” Iroh finishes. “And, yes, warped you into something I found…unsettling.”

Azula gives a bitter half smile. “At least you can admit it. You didn’t try to help me because you were afraid of me.”

“I was afraid of my brother. I was afraid of what he would do to Zuko and, frankly, what he would do to you if I tried and failed to get you away from him. You weren’t in the same danger as your brother.” 

“He isn’t my brother.” She says plainly and Zuko flinches. “Not biologically anyhow.” She adds with a shrug. She supposes that she has grown fond enough of him these days to let him continue to call her sister. “And of course I wasn’t in the same danger. We were in two very different kinds of danger. You’ve seen the results and you blame me for it.”

“I do not blame you, Azula. Not entirely. You were…” he looks between the two dragons. “You were taken from your kin and raised in a way that you weren’t meant to be raised. It is a perversion to nature. Of course you have existed in a form that went against the balance of the world and your own nature.” 

Azula swallows. 

“You were taken from your destiny and given a startling, violent one in its place. You were raised to fit a role that wasn’t supposed to be. But you still make your own choices, niece. Just like Zuko had.”

“I’m not just like anyone.” She frowns. “The situation was entirely different.” She is an entirely different person…dragon…whatever she is. 

“No.” He agrees. “You are quite extraordinary. And I am glad that you have gotten back to the place fate has meant for you to be at.”

Azula scoffs. “Fate. I make my own decisions, you said it yourself.”

“Fate and choice aren’t so separate.” Iroh replies. “I can’t imagine, unless you had learned prior to it, that your shift from human to dragon was a choice.”

“It wasn’t.” She admits. 

“That is fate. You were born a dragon and you are destined to be a dragon. Choice is this.” He gestures to her. “Deciding to remain human from time to time.”

“Speaking of time; I don’t have time for discussions about destiny and our abysmal dynamic. We’re here to find out where Ursa has gone.”

Iroh sighs. “I will tell you where Ursa is. Rather where she might be. That is part of why I have chosen to remain here in the Earth Kingdom, I was hoping to track her down for Zuko. I have a few leads to follow.” He pauses. “I only ask that you keep your mind open in return.” 

“Keep my mind open to what exactly?”

Zuko smirks at her and gives a hiss rubbing his cheek against HIS dad. How dare he claim a non dragon blood as hoard as family in front of her!! Hoards weaken you everyone knows that. Ozai beat it into them both when they first shifted. Mai and Ty Lee are not her hoard thank you very much they are her subordinates not her friends. Hoards make you weak and she isn't weak. How dare Zuko look down on her just because he is coiled around his new father who is taller then her no matter what form she takes. She is superior he should know this by now. She finds her own perch a even better one then Zuko's. Hers is taller and a dragon!

Bato did not agree to being a climbing post for a small lightning dragon especially one who doesn't seem to care if her claws HURT. He tries to unsuccessfully pry her off. She just bites her new perch. Most of the crew find it hilarious that their chief and chief's second have young dragons coiled around them that are hissing and glaring at each other. The other two dragons on board the Akhult can't understand what the two are saying but they don't really need to in order to know they are having a petty argument over fathers and human shaped perches.