Looking at the sight below her, Mai had never been so glad she'd taken up woodworking.

It just began as a way to put het knives to good use. Killing didn't quite belong in peace time. Sure, for a while it paid well to keep cumbersome dissidents in check. First at court to remind its members that they were part of a regular council now that martial law had been lifted and later, when she'd broken off with Zuko for the last time and she began travelling to find herself in the (former) colonies.

The latter had been quite the peculiar experience. Many of the colonials simply never left. Using their vast wealth to hire mercenaries that strong armed the locals into compliance. Ruling the area as if the war never stopped.

Apparently they'd become quite the sticking point in negotiations between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. To the point that once word got out she'd been in the area she'd been discreetly approached to bring them to reason .

Which Mai of course took as an invitation to be as brazen as she liked. It wasn't even a bad approach. There was little need for subtlety outside of Caldera. The colonials especially were even more fanatical in their belief of the supremacy of fire and that they ought to continue the war despite the Fire Nation already having been defeated at the height of its power and, more puzzlingly, their own apparent mixed ancestry.

When she shared her findings with the capital Zuko came to believe they must fear treatment in the Fire Nation and redoubled his efforts to improve the standing of those not from the main islands.

Mai, for her part, cared little for the origins of such delusions. Just like her targets cared little for the Fire Lord's decree to cease the war effort. Did not comprehend his new preachings of peace. Luckily, however, violence was a language they did understand. Thus the lot of them became much more compliant at the point of a knife often returning with less than half of what they could have had, had they went while the going was good.

The remaining radicals were trivial to deal with. A few she dealt with herself, but most were usually so reviled by the locals many of them would pay to do the deed. It was quite satisfying for only a little sabotage to make the house of cards fall.

Eventually though the thrill of it wore off and it just became tedious. Remaining holdouts wore thin and frankly knife-point diplomacy didn't fit into Zuko's new way of doing things. So after a few years Mai retreated to her family's old estate on Whale Tail Island from before her ancestors moved to court. Making use of the generous compensation she got. Officially for her services as a dignitary. (Serving as the Fire Lord’s informal knife under the table came with many favours, including letting her father retire quietly instead of landing in jail.) As well as her usual monthly stipend.

The choice had been daunting at first. Mai was doubtful the quiet life would agree with her, but Ty Lee's promise to join her, formally as her guard, pushed her through.

Even so, sitting still did not agree with Mai and after a while the boredom did start to get to her. Thus her new girlfriend suggested Mai try the hobby.

She'd taken to it fairly well and soon after she turned to more… phallic shapes. Initially just as a sort of quiet rebellion. Mai never tired of sticking it to the proprietary that had chained her down for so long and adorning her ancestral home with such vulgar items fit perfectly into that. Even if their form had been perhaps a bit too familiar…

Regardless, it didn't take long for them to be added to the bedroom, as Mai quickly learned to wax them thoroughly and not to be shy to use plenty of oils as well. Not that Ty Lee had left her lacking, but Mai liked having a wide range of options and the thrill of reintroducing an element she previously thought she had to give up was irresistible.

A few months later word got out Azula had recovered. A letter from Zuko explaining the situation arrived a few days later. Mai hadn't been sure how she felt about the news, the way Zuko explained the situation was troubling. Still it was as good a reason as any to leave the mansion for a bit. She had been due to peek inside the caldera for a while now anyways.

She offered Azula to stay with on a whim. Hadn't even consulted with Ty Lee about it, but Mai just couldn't help it when she saw the lilt in Azula's eyes. Mai could tell the princess wasn't faring well at court and couldn't help but recall her own struggle of feeling constrained there. Azula had been making a valiant attempt at convincing Mai she was fine, but Mai wasn't swayed. When they were young the three of them would always wore masks: Mai’s was an increasingly monotone aloofness, while Ty Lee became a master of deflections and lean into the ditzy persona people dismissed her as, but the princess utilized both a perfect poker face that could shift into any shape she desired and combined it with a tongue sharp enough to make cities fall.

But what Mai had seen in front of her wasn't that. It was a face full of cracks and instead if the perfect princess reborn she saw her younger self from when she was so, so afraid.

Azula had gone quiet, saying she'll think about it. Her tone was reserved, but that she hadn't rejected the offer out of hand was telling. Mai had time anyways: she and Ty Lee were staying in the capital for a few more weeks. Mai would need it to, to formally get her significant other on board and to properly apologize for not asking first. Not that Mai expected Ty Lee would have any objections, but it was the principle of the thing.

Like Mai expected, Ty Lee was immediately ecstatic and, at the end of their stay, Azula took them up on their offer.

Once Azula joined their household, at first ‘only for a little while’, it didn’t take long for memories to resurface of the three of them ‘just practicing for the boys’ that suddenly seemed a lot more important than some inconsequential fooling around.

Quickly it appeared Mai was far from alone with such thoughts and so Azula joined their bed and it was there Mai realized something most unexpected about her old friend.

She craved humiliation.

It was innocuous at first: just a little whining whenever just got teased, but soon Mai realized Azula would always give that response. Naturally this prompted Mai to start upping the ante which would promptly be rewarded.

Eventually Azula's humiliation took on a life of its own. At first Mai wondered why such a natural leader like Azula would take to such a submissive role, but apparently it was fueled by her guilt over past actions. A little overblown in Mai's opinion, especially since her and Ty Lee were some of the last people to be able to judge the princess for it, not that the stubborn girl could be convinced otherwise,

Mai’s not one to look a gifted ostrich-horse in the mouth though, especially on occasions like these where she has the princess all to herself, allowing Mai to get a bit more experimental .

For the current case Mai has to thank Kiyi's recent visit. As Azula still viscerally struggles to have an amicable relationship with her half-sister, which, after the former left, lead Mai to joke that perhaps Azula did not take well to no longer being the youngest.

Needless to say the response had been ~

inspiring.