Day 325 [Open]

[daughterofursa]

Who: Zuko, Colin, Ikuri, and anyone else!
Open: Open!
When: Day 325
Where: Around the Bastion, Dragonfield
What: Time for some Talks
Format: I'll match
Warnings: Honor. Also fury, and not much patience.

It's been a few days since the disaster of Crona's death. Zuko would like to think that that's given her time and distance to process it, but most of her feelings haven't changed much since their return. If anything, she's just forced herself to focus on other things, and avoid dealing with her grief, and her guilt. Not that she's realized it.

It probably doesn't help that she hasn't gotten a decent night's sleep since. But she's used to that, and if she's going to lose sleep, she can at least do it standing guard instead of tossing and turning. She's been taking regular shifts guarding the prisoners, and she's taken to carrying her swords with her within the Bastion, as a precaution not only against escape attempts, but any threat of outside attack as well.


And the swords are also for Colin. Once she's finished a guard shift, she'll be looking for him to take him up on his challenge, and also for Ikuri, for the talk she thinks she's clear-headed enough now to give.


[Later...]
Besides all that, she is still a dragon mom, and that's probably the only thing that's gotten her to settle down at all. Later in the day, she can be found near dragonfield attempting to teach Kizuna how to breathe fire. In addition to a short demonstration, this seems to involve lying down on the ground with the little dragon on her chest so she can feel Zuko's breathing.

So far it doesn't seem to be working, but neither of them appear discouraged. For Kizuna's part, it may be because she doesn't know she's supposed to be breathing fire.

Comments

Later...

[twinked_witch]

[Megaera's approach to Zuko was open, and she seemed... Well-adjusted enough. Her steps are her usual tight near-sashay, and she's slightly adjusted.]

Hey. You... Okay?

[daughterofursa]

[It's a little harder to shrug from this position, but Zuko tries anyway.]

Are you?

[twinked_witch]

... I... Honestly don't know.

There's questions I have... And I don't know if anyone can really help answer them.

[daughterofursa]

I probably don't have the answers either.

But you might as well ask them.

[Who knows, maybe the universe will answer?]

[twinked_witch]

[Megaera just... Sits down by Zuko.]

I failed as a Wizard that day. I should've seen the trap coming, should've reacted to it better. If I'd been just a second more on the ball...

[daughterofursa]

[Kizuna climbs off of Zuko to go sniff Megaera's hand. Zuko sits up.]

None of us saw it coming. We were all trying to watch for danger, but we still didn't see it.

We failed. We're going to have to learn from that.

...I thought we'd be facing monsters, not people.

[twinked_witch]

... The possibility was there. It's one I should've thought of, and had counters for.

Instead... I failed my role. And if I'm not succeeding as a Wizard...

[daughterofursa]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I didn't think being a wizard meant you could see the future.

[twinked_witch]

Specific spells with limited effect aside, it doesn't. But being a Wizard means I'm supposed to be the smart one who thinks ahead to these things.

If I'm not doing that, then is my real worth here that of being a wizard?

[daughterofursa]

Is it really possible to be prepared for everything?

Especially here. An ocean spirit could show up and drown us all, and I don't think even Colin would see that coming.

[twinked_witch]

... True. But a trap like that... The only reason we survived that fight at all was simply overpowering those people. And I've little clue if they won't just react stronger the next time.

[Megaera slowly leans back onto the ground, careful to not squish Kizuna and to let her acclimate to the new person.]

[daughterofursa]

They weren't there to fight us. You could see it from their tactics. They were there to get in, grab the core, and get out.

[Kizuna waits patiently for Megaera to settle and then tries to climb onto her stomach.]

[twinked_witch]

True, but... Wind Wall could've stopped the arrows and smoke. One spell, had I memorized it that morning...

[One hand idly strokes Kizuna's back.]

[daughterofursa]

It's too late for that now. We can't fix it.

[Megaera is probably going to get more comfort from Kizuna here.]

[twinked_witch]

... That's true, but... It calls into question what I'm good at.

If I'm not a good Wizard...

[daughterofursa]

Because of one mistake, you're a bad wizard?

[twinked_witch]

It's just... In hindsight, the methods were so obvious.

[daughterofursa]

It's really easy to look back and see every last detail of how you messed up.

[twinked_witch]

It was... Still a big error. And makes me wonder if I'm better off embracing the deal I made before this all began.

[daughterofursa]

What deal?

[twinked_witch]

... Becoming what I am now, eighty years ago.

[daughterofursa]

You mean, a "devil"?

[Zuko is skeptical. Didn't that have to do with manipulating people?]

[twinked_witch]

Yeah. Charm powers and such. Maybe I'd be more useful applying those to the place's benefit.

[daughterofursa]

Well, that might help with the prisoners, but how many people do you think there really are for you to... charm?

[Zuko's goal is to find a way to make peace with this new group, like they did with the Ura, and Megaera already expressed she avoided using those powers on allies.]

[twinked_witch]

... That's part of the problem.

[Megaera nods.]