Day 256 [Open]

[daughterofursa]

Who: Zuko and anyone
Open: Open!
When: Day 256, evening
Where: By the lake
What: A failure to meditate
Format: I'll match
Warnings: Honor

Zuko knows she's always been hard on herself, but she's never really considered it to be too hard. But some of the things people have been saying about her... Well, people in the Bastion have always expressed a more positive view of her than she thinks she deserves, and she always figured it was because they don't know what she's come from, but she's finally starting to wonder. Maybe the flawed perspective is her own.

Which is why she is attempting something else which, like positive thinking, she is not very good at: meditating. Whoever really wants to can find her by the lake, sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed and... definitely scowling more than she ought to be.

Comments

[four_quarts]

[Fortunately, Ghaleon is very, very patient when he wants to be.]

I could give more than just general tips if I had some clue of what you intend to meditate on, but I suppose the knowledge that one does not necessarily need to be sitting during meditation may be useful for future reference.

[daughterofursa]

"I don't see how it's anything to make light of. That kind of power is deadly. Unless you're a firebender, and one who's been trained to redirect it, the only thing you can do is run."

[daughterofursa]

What difference does it make if I'm sitting or not?

[twinked_witch]

"It isn't. It's possibly one of the most dangerous things I've heard described since I arrived. However, it's also something that I, specifically, have a specific technique to mitigate. Again, with the spell I mentioned, your sister's lightning by itself would do nothing to me. I'd have more to worry about from her direct strikes, though. Like some kind of cosmic balance, perhaps."

Her voice was slowly calming as she spoke. "I am not underestimating the threat, let me be clear. I am saying that, with the right help, you can handle it. Don't close yourself off to possibilities from beyond."

[daughterofursa]

"I'd rather everyone stay out of it so no one has to get hurt. She'd target people I care about, and that... That's the last thing I want."

[twinked_witch]

"We're not exactly in that large a space, unfortunately, here in the Bastion. If she shows up, we'll likely be involved no matter what. As a result... Well, knowing is half any Wizard's battle. And that rule isn't just for Wizards."

[daughterofursa]

As much as Zuko hated to admit it, she was probably right.

"...so, what? You think I should issue a general warning or something? 'Watch out for my sister'?"

[twinked_witch]

"Potentially, though she may be an unlikely hazard. More importantly... Don't be afraid to ask others for ideas how to handle things. You know your world and the limits there, but different worlds have different limits."

Megaera shifted a bit. "More than that... It's not just your worry about her potentially returning that's got you off-balance, I don't think."

[daughterofursa]

Zuko glanced away. "No, I wasn't really thinking about Azula."

Because, like Megaera said, it wasn't that likely that she would show up.

[four_quarts]

Lying down is easier on the back in the event you need to do this for longer periods.

[Obviously.]

[daughterofursa]

I don't think I'll need to do it for that long...

[...or at least not all at once. She has other things she needs to do.]

[twinked_witch]

"True enough. The conversation simply turned that way. But then, if I might ask... What does leave you so disconcerted? Your tension is... Very present, I feel."

[daughterofursa]

"... It's what you said before. About being confident. I don't really care how I look--" Well, that was a bit of a lie, but it was true that her appearance wasn't a priority. "--but other people see things about me that I don't. I used to think they just didn't know me that well."

[twinked_witch]

"... It's very hard to look at oneself in the mirror and see what others see, indeed," Megaera responded. "To understand another's emotions and how they affect their perception of you, even harder. Sometimes, the most important thing to do there, though, is to trust that what other people say about you is what they really think of you. Regardless of who it is, honesty is the default, because you have to think about a lie more."

... How true that one was, Megaera considered with a bit of a sense of irony, given how she had been holding onto a lie her entire time here. She knew how to bluff and lie easily, but even then, she preferred to be truthful if the truth wouldn't cause her problems. Funny how that was true among most of her kind.

"And, of course, I've already told you what I see in you, and having spoken with you more, I wouldn't have much to add to that."

[freedom_engineer]

Ah, I was not aware of that fact.

[Colin bows his head slightly in concession.]

... So, where do you fit in that equation?

[There's a tilt of his head.]

Have you killed a dragon before?

[daughterofursa]

"I don't think anyone's lying. You don't have to lie to be wrong about something."

She just wasn't so sure anymore about who was wrong. If everyone else agreed on something and she was the only one who felt differently, it was worth considering whether she was the one seeing things wrong.

[daughterofursa]

No! [Wow Colin what kind of question is that?

Except that she absolutely just told him her family hunted dragons and acted guilty about it, but her taking offense doesn't have to be logical.]

They were supposed to be extinct before I was born. Except they weren't, but I didn't kill them. I had the honor of learning from them.

[freedom_engineer]

[Yeah, sorry Zuko. But you didn't exactly paint a picture that had him assuming otherwise.]

Ah, that makes sense. It just seemed to be weighing heavily on your mind.

I've seen your bending, though. Clearly, good teachers.

[daughterofursa]

[Colin, practically the only thing that doesn't weigh heavily on her mind is where the meat comes from.]

I- [No, not protesting that compliment.] They were. I've improved a lot.

...they're probably extinct for real now.

[twinked_witch]

"Perhaps... But people are rarely wrong about what they see in others, if the others aren't lying about themselves. You very much feel like someone who wears a lot of who they are on their sleeve... What others see in you, as a result, is likely to be a fairly good measure. Perhaps one better than your self-perceptions."

[daughterofursa]

"On my sleeve?" Zuko thought she understood what Megaera was getting at, but it was an unfamiliar expression, and she wasn't wearing sleeves.

[freedom_engineer]

In this universe, perhaps. In some other universes, perhaps.

Not all over. Time is not so fragile as to wipe out every timeline.

Nor am I willing to call everything lost.

[daughterofursa]

Is that supposed to make me feel better? That the Ran and Shaw I met are probably dead, but some other versions of them might be alive?

[...actually, when she says it out loud, it does sound slightly better than them not existing at all.]

[twinked_witch]

"It means you're a very straightforward person. You hide things, but basically behind a cloak of aloofness, rather than say one of lies or masks."

In other words, probably about what Zuki thought Megaera meant.

"Your experiences distort your perceptions, especially of yourself. To get an outside perspective can be your best hope of breaking the distortion. Try focusing your thoughts, not on the yourself you see, but the one I see, that Ibuki sees, that... You get the idea."

Slowly, Megaera reached to her cloak. "Would some tea be good? It's not the best, being magically produced, but it might soothe the nerves a bit."

[daughterofursa]

"Oh."

And what she was saying... didn't sound like such a bad idea. Well, Zuko wasn't sure she could bend her mind enough to see like Ibuki, but maybe say, Rin. They understood each other, didn't they?

"Magic tea? Uncle would probably be interested to try that." Even if it wasn't the best, he did enjoy trying different kinds.