Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Fire Flakes ❯ Shared Pain ( Chapter 13 )

Title: Shared Pain

Author: Sephira jo

Rating: PG13 - for animal torture

Warning: Focuses on Mai and Ty Lee and Azula.

Author's Notes: A little bit on the disturbing side, but it's been awhile since I've done an Azula drabble…

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar; I'm not making any money off of this.

 

* * ^___^ * *

 

Seven years old, and left to her own devices by a distant, uncaring tutor, Azula had caught a squirrel-mouse in her Mother's garden. She had pinned its tail to the ground with a stolen knife and lay on her stomach, supporting her head on her hands. Watching it squirm to get away and writhe and squeak with pain.

 

At five, she had no understanding of exactly why she found this amusing. But already she would tear the wings of butterflies. She had also snuck poison into royal kennels. One of her Grandfather's hunting dogs had perished - painfully - crying into the night until the Kennel Master had the grace to put it down quickly. The incident had been declared an accident.

 

Reaching forward, she idly moved the knife in the tail of the animal. It bled and squeaked. She didn't want to kill it. She hadn't wanted to kill the dog. She hoped the butterflies lived on deformed and pained. She would rather they suffer.

 

She didn't want to suffer alone. That was part of it. Her mother always spent more time with Zuko. She paid little attention to her. Her father's only concern was her training; whatever warmth she may have remembered seemed like a dream. She always felt a little warmer inside when she `shared' her pain. When the animals would escape, permanently marked by what she had done, she felt powerful.

 

She pulled out the knife and half-heartedly set fire to the squirrel-mouse's ear. She watched it frantically douse flame before running off and out of sight. She looked at the blood on the knife and smiled slightly. She didn't feel as bad when she shared her pain.