While the food wasn’t too bad, the weird atmosphere made the mess hall an interesting sight for people watching. Ty Lee noted the pangs of uneasiness from the soldiers as they went about their lives. The higher officers in particular wore concern and creeping guilt like veils over themselves, even as they quite expertly put on courteous masks in front of Ty Lee and Mai.

“We came at a bad time?” Mai bluntly asked, hiding her amusement under her usual disinterested voice.

A Captain Ren replied with a brittle smile, green and yellow with awkwardness. “It’s not the best, but it’s not your fault either.” Ty Lee found the captain’s reassurance rather refreshing. They were clearly well in Azula’s graces to be able to admit failure, rather than trying to dress it up. “It’s a rather…unfortunate series of events.”

The girls nodded at that, but Mai wasn’t content to leave it at that. She was still tinted in the bubbling orange of anger. “So you were all going to hurt Zuko? Or kill him?”

“Of course not!” Next to her, Captain Ping not so subtly cleared her throat to give herself time to reply. “We…were going to demand that he…uh, answer for his insult. He’s still Azula’s brother, after all.”

“So, you’re all gonna get in trouble?” Mai prodded.

Ty Lee saw how worry snaked into the captains as they exchanged glances. The realization that they might have been too impulsive. “I’m…not sure?” Ping lied lamely.

Maybe they weren’t the cold-blooded, insidious murderers that some stories made them out to be.

“Colonel Xing must be lucky to have such loyal soldiers under his command and looking out for him,” Ty Lee offered, watching as the women relaxed a little as they received her words. She gave a light elbow into Mai when the other girl seemed ready to add in an unhelpful quip. “I’ve only heard rumors about him, but I didn’t know he was that young!”

“Yeah, he’s been with us for a long while,” Ren said with a sad yet proud smile. “Practically grew up in the regiment.”

“Sounds rough,” Mai commented, thankfully getting the hint and not poking them any further.

Both captains winced before they nodded. “Our old colonel wanted to keep him away from the fighting, but we got ambushed, and Xing saved some lives by joining the fighting.” Ren sighed. “After that and a few more…um, incidents, the colonel had to officially conscript him so he’d be forced to behave like a soldier.”

“Otherwise…?”

It was Ping who answered with a chuckle. “Otherwise, he’d keep disappearing the moment we come across an enemy camp, to try and sneak in.”

“Thank the spirits Sungho kept him out of the worst of it,” Ren muttered. “Oh, he’s our Scout Captain.” She pointed over to a grim looking man nodding away as another soldier spoke. “Kept Xing out of the worst trouble back then, and was one of Xing’s more regular babysitters.”

Ty Lee quirked her head to one side at the explanation, prompting the captain to continue.

“Xing likes to run off, so Sungho keeps him company for his own safety. Plus as a scout he’s not as stuck keeping soldiers in line like us” She paused for a brief second before snorting. “Shouldn’t be surprising that they got along and Sungho started picking up Xing’s ideas.”

“That’s sweet,” Ty Lee commented, enjoying the warm pinks and reds she helped nurture in the captains.

“Yeah, well, it’s not like it’s hard to befriend him,” Ping said. “It started out rough at first when he…” Ty Lee saw the minute winces, the sudden blankness in the captain’s eyes, and the faint slump as an ugly blackness swooped in. “Since we first found him.” The icky miasma was forced to the edges as Ping forced herself back into her friendly smile. “But he quickly became one of us, whether we liked it or not. I guess it also helps that he’s come up with brilliant ideas that made our lives easier.”

Mai couldn’t hold in her annoyance. “Sounds like a charmer.”

As if on cue, the air in the mess hall stilled into an eerie turquoise as every soldier suddenly froze and looked to the same point. Ty Lee followed their gaze to find Azula and Xing, the former betraying movements that gave her aura an uncertain, nervous red, while Xing’s purple was faded and took a less ugly tone. He was only a bit relieved, and in exchange the princess was only a bit unsure of herself.

Ty Lee felt a need to know what had gone on in their private meeting.

Xing glanced around and nodded to each of his officers, and so Ren and Ping got up from the table to join him. But not before they gave a polite ‘pardon us’ before they left. Far better than some of the high-nosed courtiers Ty Lee had encountered on the way here trying to gain Azula’s attention.

While Azula and the officers of the regiment walked off, the awkwardness in the air lingered as Xing walked over to bow too formally at the girls. Interestingly, his eyes never lingered long on Ty Lee, contrary to many people she’d met, nor did they struggle to look past her as others tried to. His gaze was direct and a bit intense, but with how agitated his aura was, Ty Lee couldn’t blame him. His eyes were forcing themselves to look straight, his lips parted and closed ever so slightly… The guy was conflicted with something for sure. Or maybe somethings?

“I must apologize for the unseemly incident you have both witnessed earlier. I hope it does not color your impression of the princess’ regiment.”

Yeah, he’s being too stiff with them, considering that Ty Lee did hear him call Azula by name earlier. From the way his eyes twitched and his shoulders trembled, it seemed more of a polite thing than any fallout the two had. Which was good, Ty Lee supposed.

“It’s alright,” she replied brightly. “I mean, it’s Azula being Azula, right? At least no one got too hurt.”

That elicited an interesting wince from Xing, but he simply nodded. “I’m sure that you would have better things to do than loiter in a military barracks, so I must ask for your patience as the princess has a meeting with her regiment.”

“Eh, it’s not that bad,” Mai actually said. “Better than being stuck in town.” Then Ty Lee saw the pinkness at the edges of her aura, and she had to suppress a teasing smirk.

Returning back to Xing, the acrobat smiled again and waved him off. “Don’t worry, we’ve been in courts before, we know what it’s like.”

“Thank you for your consideration. Perhaps we’ll have a more appropriate socializing after this is done.” Xing gave another bow, and then turned to leave.

The girls quietly left the mess hall to try and follow him. ‘Try’, because Azula’s own bodyguards politely intercepted them as soon as they stepped out and ushered them to a waiting room.

Mai was about to protest with a snide remark, but then they caught sight of Zuko and his uncle, headed towards the same destination as Azula’s group were. The prince looked far better without the bruises, though with the gloomy gray aura draping him one might think that he was headed to the headsman's block.

Unfortunately, the bodyguards were very good at their jobs, and Ty Lee had to content herself by watching Mai’s stew in pink and gray.

*****

The meeting was over and done with relatively quickly, and Ren felt rather relieved that it didn’t turn out the way her overacting imagination had expected it to. As Kai and the others went to gather the troops into formation again, the training captain glanced over to Azula who still wore a frown on her face. Prince Iroh was openly relieved, while the younger prince was torn between grateful relief and self-loathing.

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Xing was stiff as a board, still wearing his discomfort openly as he led the group back out to the grounds’ raised stage as the regiment was assembled. Ren would have to speak to him in private again, she hadn’t expected her little brother to be so affected in dressing down his subordinates, even if it was barely that. Then again, it was his first time having to do so, so maybe it’s to be expected?

No one expects the youngest child to be berating a whole extended family after all, least of all the child themselves.

Whether the whole thing was warranted or not would likely be debatable for a while, of course.

Ren was too busy with her thoughts on the meeting to pay attention to Azula’s friends appearing and joining the princess, where she quite casually brushed off their questions.

“Whether you were going to be non-lethal or not is besides the point,” Xing had said in a stern but slightly quivering voice. “You did not come to me first. Unlike Yuka and the others we’ve saved, I’m in a position to resolve the matter by myself.” He was disappointed and disturbed, but Ren couldn’t find the anger in his voice back then. She still couldn’t as she replayed his words in her head.

Back in the present, she watched Prince Iroh holding a quiet conversation with Azula. The prince looked regretful as his head shook or nodded along to the princess’ replies. Family drama, Ren guessed. Hopefully not related any further with the younger prince.

Speaking of, Azula’s friends had wormed their way to the boy’s side, and the captain saw how he recoiled a little at the presence of Mai, the forcefully apathetic one. Ty Lee, the sunnier and less dressed of the pair, was doing a lot of the talking, but the prince seemed like he was trying to curl away and flee from their presence. Judging by how the girl was moving side to side to subtly flank him, she probably was aware of that too.

With her friends gone to harass her brother, Azula then drifted towards Xing, and along with Prince Iroh they exchanged words. Nods of varying curtness were exchanged between the three of them, but Ren just felt glad that the kids were still on talking terms.

“11th Regiment! Attention!”

Mozi’s voice snapped Ren out of her focus as a couple thousand pairs of feet stomped into sharp attention. She could practically taste the curiosity at the assembly mixed with resentment as the troops spotted the prince who had insulted their colonel. The air was immediately tense, but it slackened when Xing walked up to the stage and turned his right side to the troops.Then the not-so-royal-anymore offender straightened and walked up with in nearly parade-perfect steps to stand before Xing, wearing far less desperation than he did in the morning, and then bent over so sharply into a bow that it seemed as if one the bone in his spines suddenly disappeared.

“Colonel Xing. I, Zuko, wish to apologize for the loathsome insult I inflicted on you yesterday.” His voice was a little shaky, but the delivery was passable, Ren thought. The compromise to have him declare only his name had a decent effect on the crowd, especially those more acquainted with the formalities of the upper classes.

“It would be foolish of me to think that such an act could be forgiven so easily, so I can only beg that you will allow me the chance to rebuild the trust that you have so generously granted me before this, and that I have foolishly taken for granted.”

Ren’s lips twitched as she fought back a scowl. Like the others (the prince included, surprisingly), she’d still prefer it if he prostrated himself instead of just bowing, but Xing had been adamant about not making this an utter humiliation. With Prince Iroh’s support and Azula reluctantly agreeing as well, the officers had to settle with this.

Xing let the silence brew for a moment before he replied, the prince still bowed almost at a perfectly right angle. “I will accept your apology, P- Zuko.” The gathered troops reacted rather well to that, the vets in particular losing a lot of their grimness at hearing their colonel finally knocking off some of the undeserved respect for the prince, even if only as a display.

“With your sister, Crown Princess Azula’s approval, and agreement from Prince Iroh…” Just to rub it in, and Ren wholly agreed with that. Azula must’ve coached him on this part. “...I will allow you a chance to wipe your dishonor against me. As colonel of the crown princess’ 11th Royal Regiment, I am offering you, Zuko, a chance to earn your honor back by your deeds. You will be inducted into a regiment as an aspiring recruit, and undergo every stage of training to determine your worthiness. If you succeed, you will serve in one of the battalions. You will not hold any commissioned rank, and you will fight and bleed for the regiment for as long as I and the crown princess deems appropriate.”

There was a short pause to allow the words to sink in for everyone. There was confusion and uncertainty, but grins broke out in some groups. Ren glanced at her colleagues, and by the nods she received they noticed it too. They’ll have to fix that bit later.

“Do you accept this offer, Zuko?”

The prince didn’t hesitate, finally straightening from his bow a little to give a sharp salute, never looking Xing in the eyes as appropriate for someone of a lower station. “I gladly accept the gracious opportunity you have offered me, colonel.”

Xing nodded. “Then, Recruit Zuko, you will return with Training Captain Ren to undergo training in four days time. Do not waste this opportunity by dropping out or doing anything stupid, like dying from attempting the obstacle courses.”

That elicited some muted snickers from the troops, but overall the tension had mostly faded off.

“Thank you, colonel.”

“Recruit Zuko.”

The prince looked up with some confusion. “You’re in my regiment now. Stop bowing like a simpering noble and stand at attention when addressing your superiors.”

He snapped to attention at a respectable speed. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

That banished more of the tension, and scattered chuckles broke out in the battalions.

The soldiers were approving enough of the decision, just as expected. The problem then would be to mold the conscripted prince into something that wouldn’t get his comrades killed.

Ren sighed and then marched out to play her part. “Recruit!” she called out sharply, and the captain felt some satisfaction in seeing a good number of soldiers flinch. Good, she still left an impression on them.

The new recruit snapped towards her immediately, and Ren strode up to him. “You’re mine now, pretty boy. And until we get back, I’m going to put you through your paces.” Without further ceremony Ren grabbed him by the collar and yanked him along with her off the stage. Judging from the looks of commiseration that flashes through some of the crowd, the little act did its intended work.

Though it wasn’t really an act.

Ren promised not to be unfairly harsh on the recruit, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy herself. She’ll get Kai to use his leave to take care of Fan for the next month or so; Ren would be devoting her full attention to the prince to make sure he was worthy of Xing’s kindness.