Celebrations. It seemed like there were so many these days. Celebrating his return (and continued survival), his supposed victory over the man-eating monster of the mountain, and the biggest of all; his marriage.

Sokka had always expected something simple. He'd meet a girl from another village and have a nice, normal marriage ceremony as husband and wife with her family and his to witness it. Then they'd go and live in a house and life would go on as normal for a man and woman.

This turned out to not be the case. His bride to be was a Princess (and more, though that part was undisclosed), there were standards to maintain.

Never mind that she couldn't really say where she was a princess of, or where her family where. Claiming to be an orphan and offering up a crown seemed to satisfy anyone who asked.

So instead of his regular marriage, he got an elaborate, ostentatious festival of some kind. It wasn't terrible, he had supposed. People seemed happy to get involved, there was plenty of food and he wasn't required to do much beyond standing there.

Hakoda managed to wrangle a large group to retrieve the treasure from the mountain. The men had been mystified by the lack of draconic corpses, but Sokka had simply shrugged, telling them it must have been magic. They had no better explanations, and were more interested in the golden hoard anyway.

They used the riches to purchase the services of builders and other craftsmen. It had taken them many months to build the castle the couple had requested. Quite often they'd received questions regarding the sheer size of the building, but Sokka always managed to deflect them towards Azula.

They stopped after that. People loved and feared the Princess in equal measure, admiring and apprehensive all at once. Perhaps it was her otherworldly looks, exotic and ethereal. It may have been her curt, dismissive nature. Possibly it was her chilling, inhuman stare. Either way, nobody bothered her when they could help it.

The hardest part of it was obtaining a herd of yaks for Azula. The dragon was loath to part with her favoured food source, and so Sokka sought to domesticate them for her.

Fortunately, a travelling nomad came by not long after the keep was built. He was a slight young man who had tamed a similar beast in the South, and rode it like a horse.

By chance, Sokka introduced her to his sister Katara, and then immediately regretted it when he saw the looks on the pair's faces. They had clearly forgotten he existed, despite being right next to each other.

It was only after Azula pointed out their need that he had the idea to use this new connection in his favour. It was easy enough to ask for his help, the little bald monk seemed especially friendly.

He corralled a few of the mountain-dwelling cows for them, under the belief that they would be used for milking (the man was a vegetarian, and Sokka could hardly tell him their real purpose as dragon food.)

In gratitude, Sokka gifted him with some of their wealth after the nomad told him of his plans to build some sort of temple. He'd grumbled a bit under his breath when he thought about what exactly would happen to his sister should the monk stay in the area. And was not surprised later on when the two were found in a rather intimate embrace.

Sadly his constant expenditures had some unpleasant results. Not that he was low on funds, but Azula got more and more displeased with every spent coin.

Eventually it had boiled over, and he had narrowly avoided being burnt to a crisp. She'd taken several days to calm down, smoke wisping from her nostrils even in human form.

But after a year and a half they were finally done. Their home was complete, their coupling finalised and their future ahead of them.

There was a sound. It was loud and high-pitched and seemed to go on forever. Like a hot knife through butter it seemed to pierce the veil of warm comfort that surrounded Sokka's mind, jolting him out of his dreams.

His eyes opened, staring up into the shadows. Annoyance flashed through him - what right did the sound have to take his sleep from him? Was he not the lord and master of his castle?

Well, to be truthful… no, he wasn't. He might own the lands in name, but he was not foolish enough to think they were actually his. Instead, they belonged to a far greater power than he.

There was movement beside him, a soft groan adding to the consistent noise. A hand crawled over the bare skin of his arm before suddenly curling around it. And then the sharp nails began to dig into his flesh.

"Sokka," Azula's voice was weary and he strained to hear it. "Go."

He blinked, staring at her in the candlelight. He could hardly tell his wife was awake, she was so still. Perhaps she wasn't. Or maybe he wasn't, and this was a dream. That would be nice.

An increase in pain told him he wasn't dreaming, and that Azula was getting impatient. Sighing to himself, he pulled free of her clutches. Running a hand through his limp, unrestrained hair he snatched up his clothes.

In a moment he was dressed and ready, stepping out of his bedroom to find the source of the noise. He didn't have to go far, only a few steps down the hall. It lay behind a door, and Sokka couldn't help but frown at it.

Shaking his head, he pushed it open. For a moment, the noise intensified, before suddenly cutting off. As he crossed into the room eyes stared at him, almost glowing in the dark.

He edged closer and closer, feeling his way through the darkness as he searched for a candle to light the room. His hands grasped air for a moment, until he finally brushed against the wax. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a flake of flint and piece of steel. For a moment he envied his wife her ability to conjure fire at her fingertips.

After a few strikes the fire burst into life, the candle lighting the room reasonably well. He turned to the side, and was greeted with a happy burble.

Smiling proudly, Sokka went to his son's crib, gently pulling him from the wooden cage and cradling the baby in his arms. The newborn continued to make unintelligible noises, reaching out to swat at his father's nose.

It had been a fear of Sokka's that his offspring would turn out less than normal. After all, their mother wasn't entirely human. Visions had danced through his head of scaly monsters, abominations of mixed human and dragon appearances. He'd even thought, for a time, that Azula might give birth to eggs.

Thankfully none of his paranoid nightmares had come true. His child was healthy, normal and a dead-ringer for him with his dark skin and deep blue eyes.

Admittedly, he had also inherited some of his mother's features - including her slit pupils. It was too early to tell if he would also gain her pointed teeth, but Sokka hoped not. He'd heard babies chewed on things normally, how much worse would it be with sharp, flesh-tearing fangs?

But even if he did, Sokka would love the child all the same. Joy and contentment coursed through his entire being as he gazed down at the tiny, squishy thing he held. It was hard to believe he had been responsible, even in part, for creating another human.

The creak of wooden floorboards behind him alerted Sokka to another presence, before warm arms draped themselves over his shoulders. He turned his head, smiling at his wife before she captured his lips in a light kiss.

Privately, Sokka was overjoyed at how she had mellowed after her pregnancy, especially considering how she'd been in a constant state of aggression during it. But now affection came easier to her, seeking comfort from him was more normal.

Yunqi's eyes widened at his mother's appearance, and he reached out with his fat, stubby arms. Azula smoothly plucked him from his father's grasp, easing him gently to her breast. The infant fed noisily. Sokka ran a hand atop his child's head, feeling the downy dark hair.

"I am so glad that I am insane, you know?" Sokka began.

Azula glanced at him quizzically.

"I am. if I hadn't had that crazy idea to go and fight a dragon, none of this would have happened. And that would suck. I wouldn't have a beautiful wife, an amazing house and an adorable son. I'd just be… ordinary,"

Rolling her eyes, Azula snorted.

"You are ordinary. And so very lucky that I decided not to eat you. I thought about it several times, generally when you were talking."

Sokka wasn't swayed by her threats.

"Didn't I tell you most people prefer it when I don't talk? Don't blame me, you coulda let me go. But I'm glad you didn't."

Patting her baby on the back, Azula nodded, a soft look in her eyes.

"So am I."

"Uncle! Uncle, tell me a story!" Zhiba insisted.

Sokka laughed, ruffling the young girl's braided hair. She scowled at him, but remained bouncing in place.

"Okay, okay. A story, huh? As it so happens, I know a story. It's just your kind of thing, about princesses and knights and dragons. That sound interesting?"

The girl's grey eyes widened and she nodded excitedly, scrambling to sit down before her uncle.

"Azula, go and get the other kids will you?" Sokka asked.

The dragon rolled her golden eyes but nodded, putting down her fork and disappearing into another room. After a minute she returned with several children of varying ages in tow.

They crowed and called at each other excitedly, the ones with slit pupils seeming even more boisterous than their normal cousins. Eventually they aligned themselves in a circle around the storyteller. The youngest, a pale, golden-eyed toddler crawled to her father, climbing up into his lap.

He held her in place with an arm as he surveyed the assorted congregation. In the background he could see his sister and brother-in-law conversing and beckoned them over. When everyone was seated, he began his tale.

"On a snow-capped mountain, several hundred feet up a jagged, treacherous path there was a hidden cave…"