Circus Freak - An Avatar: TLA RP (Private with AJbestpony)

[GreaterGood]

Ty Lee was practicing alone in her tent. The traveling circus was expected to leave in just a few days, but she hadn't bothered packing her things yet. There was still just one more show to play, a private audience for the Fire Nation nobility. She wondered to herself who exactly was showing up. She'd done well to detach herself from current affairs, preferring to focus on her act.


One hand on the ground, holding up the rest of her body, felt something. A pair of somethings. Two sets of footsteps approaching her tent. It wasn't the ringleader, or any of the carnies who got her to draw attention to their scam-games, but they seemed oddly familiar to her nonetheless. Her head shot towards the flap to her tent, tilting curiously.

[AJbestpony]

Azula, princess of the Fire Nation, padded over to her childhood friend as she balanced flawlessly on one limb. "Well, it has been quite a while, hasn't it?"

[GreaterGood]

"Oh, Azula!" Ty Lee smiled, perking up, "It's been too long!"

Ty Lee pushed up from the ground, effortlessly flipping up onto her feet to meet Azula's gaze. She immediately stuck out her arms, giving the fire princess a gigantic, tight hug.

"Did you come to see me perform?" She asked, "It must get boring and dour in the fire capital, what with the war and all, right?"

[AJbestpony]

"Life in the capital CAN be predictable," Azula admitted, accepting the hug but doing nothing to return it. "But that is not why I'm here. As you have probably heard, the Avatar has returned. And in light of my brother's utter failure to apprehend or kill him, my father has assigned the task to me now. He has offered me an entire legion of soldiers, though I have decided a smaller team would be more efficient. I have three people in mind: myself, Mai, and..."

[GreaterGood]

"Zuko?" Ty Lee asked, "You guys make a great team! Did you bring them here? Are they going to see me too?"

A certain amount of Ty Lee's naivete was likely willful denial, but it was kind of hard to tell.

[AJbestpony]

"Zuko... has lost his way," Azula claimed, "He's turned renegade. He and my Uncle Iroh are now at large, but their whereabouts are of little concern to us. And needless to say, neither of them are who I had in mind."

She then placed her hands on the short acrobat's shoulders. "No, I want you for the third spot."

[GreaterGood]

Ty Lee's eyes shot wide open at Azula's suggestion. The feeling of Azula's cold hands on her shoulders, tightly gripping her, caused her to visibly squirm in discomfort.


"Me?" Ty Lee asked, "I... I don't know about that, Azula. I haven't fought anybody in a really long time, and it's not really what I like doing. The circus is a lot more fun, not to mention peaceful! I think I've really found my calling here, I'd hate to put it to waste. I'm really sorry, but I think I'm going to have to sit this one out."

[AJbestpony]

Naturally, as princess, Azula was not accustomed to being denied anything, even from one of her oldest friends. "I would encourage you to rethink your answer, Ty Lee. Because I have ways of convincing you to change your mind. Some of which are not very pleasant."

[GreaterGood]

"C-C'mon, Azula," Ty Lee awkwardly chuckled, "We both know you're not gonna torture me. Besides, why can't you just enjoy the show? You brought Mai, didn't you? You two can watch me perform together! Maybe I can even get Shuzumu to have the circus follow you! It'll just be like old times! I'll perform without needing to fight anybody, and we can still be friends!"

Ty Lee's perception of war was as childish as ever, it seemed.

[AJbestpony]

Azula had hoped the threat of torment alone would be enough to win Ty Lee, though evidently she was as obstinate as ever. "Well then, it would seem we have to do this the hard way."

With that, she gestured for her attendants to seize the acrobat at once.