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

[darkshooter]

Too long already! [And again with the pout.]

[Tiny dragon sniffs jerky. sniffs it again...then carefully opens its mouth and gently pulls on the treat to take it. if allowed, he'll take it from Zuko and get right down to a comfortable position to start nomming. Such good manners! ...but he's still not leaving his spot.]

[daughterofursa]

Look, it's important.

[Of course Zuko lets the dragon have the jerky. At least one of them seems mollified.]

[darkshooter]

...

...

Friends.

[There. You like that? I'll talk if we're friends. ...Because I'm not interrupting my sleep for someone who doesn't think we're friends.]

[daughterofursa]

What?

[Zuko is not following this thought process. Friendship isn't something you just... decide on... especially when someone is annoying you?

Frankly she thinks Ikuri is trying to say something about people who actually are her friends.]

[darkshooter]

[gosh you are dense.]

[she actually sits up to look at you now, face like this. she has to maneuver around tiny dragon to avoid bothering him and actually takes care to do so; tiny dragon, for his part, shifts just slightly to avoid Ikuri but seems almost wholly preoccupied with his treat otherwise.]

Friends! [like how can you miss this. gestures to indicate you both!] Us friends!

[and after a second to let that sink in, she holds up an index finger in front of Zuko, pointing upward.]

No talk.

[Is that clear enough?]

[daughterofursa]

[No. No, it's not clear at all.]

You don't even like me.

[Being friends makes no sense.]

[darkshooter]

Want to like you! [And you make it so hard!] Try!

[daughterofursa]

I don't care if you like me or not, I just want to talk to you for five minutes.

[Why is this so difficult?]

[darkshooter]

[because you won't give in, obviously]

No! Friends! Friends only!


[oh god she just crossed her arms. is this like dealing with a child or what.]

[tiny dragon, however, gives no more damns. he has his jerky and all is right with the world - which is to say he's totally oblivious to all of it.]

[daughterofursa]

That's not... [how friendship works? Like Zuko knows.]

Fine, whatever. You can think whatever you want.

[darkshooter]

[Head. Shake.]

You have to say.

[Yes. She is going to make you say it.]

[daughterofursa]

No, I don't.

I didn't come over here to make friends [--unless it was with the dragon--] I came to talk to an ally about learning how to control herself.

[/2]

[darkshooter]

[... then get lost, will you? I'm trying to sleep.]

[darkshooter]

[layin' back down]

[daughterofursa]

[Zuko sighs again. Well, your ears should still work from down there.]

You're going to wind up hurting someone you don't mean to if you don't learn to discipline yourself.

[darkshooter]

[...her body may have tensed.]

[daughterofursa]

[Good, that means she's listening, right?]

I've been there. I let my anger get the better of me and it put my allies in danger.

I don't think you want to do that.

[darkshooter]

[...]

[no motion this time. she managed to keep herself completely still.]

[daughterofursa]

You were out of control before.

I couldn't count on you to listen to strategy. I couldn't count on you to help our allies.

That can't happen again, and I think it's better if you don't leave the Bastion until you know it won't.

[darkshooter]

Crona...

[Weariness, pain, disbelief and weak protest all at once. It's probably quite clear now, if it wasn't before, that this topic is very unwelcome.]

[To take that a step further (and risk some soap opera), the tone itself seems to be asking you why you're doing this - if the whole reason you came to her was just to reopen her wounds.]


[Just because she can hear you doesn't mean you're getting through.]

[daughterofursa]

[Zuko didn't really expect it to be a welcome topic.]

I know. That wasn't easy for any of us. It's still... not easy.

...

I'm not sure what I can do to help. I just know that kind of anger burns. Holding on to it won't help.

just enough time and inspiraton for one more

[darkshooter]

[Ikuri curls up even more tightly, grasping her head as though to seal herself away. Because that's what she wants right now: she doesn't want to talk about anger. She doesn't want to think about anger. She's had enough anger, there's time for anger later, all she wants is rest, why can't she just rest?]

[Why did you take her relatively peaceful sleep away just to tell her what she'd already been thinking about? This isn't helping!]

You're hurting.

{and alas, the manner in which she means that puts a missing me at the end of the sentence.]

[she told you plain enough she didn't want to talk right this second, that she'd talk to you later; why wouldn't you accept that? why couldn't you leave her alone?]

[daughterofursa]

[Zuko falters. Maybe she shouldn't be forcing the issue. She's never been good at finding the right time to talk to people. She's not her uncle. Somehow he always knew when to stay and make her listen, and when to leave her alone.]

If you're not going to talk to me, you need to talk to someone. Ignoring it won't make it go away.

I...wouldn't blame you if you were tired of this by now, heh. :'D

[darkshooter]

Was going to talk to you! Wanted to, you said! [And you did.]



Ikuri scared. So scared... of me. Of monster. Can't sleep or I'm monster again...

Can't sleep or Ibuki dies. Ippo dies. Colin dies. Myrrh... Megaera...

Can't sleep or the lies come back. Ikuri becomes lie too...becomes monster. Stays.

[She's...way too close to crying by the time we've come here. Whoops. also yeah that sure was a namedrop]

Who's going to die?! Who else-- will I lose?! [okay, yeah, almost definitely crying again there]

Who will I kill--?!


[smaller font is deliberate, her voice is weaker now]

but she's actually talking now!

[daughterofursa]

[Well, that's a response.

A response with crying. Why did she think she could do this? How can anyone have seriously called her a nice person? She's the worst.]

I-

You're not a monster.

You just need help.