Flying North (Kuzco/Malina)
I'm kind of on a TENS hype right now. About time, right? :P
Title: Flying North
Fandom: The Emperor's New School
Length: 545 words
Author: This is based on Episode 50, "Kuzco's Little Secret." Malina's angsty side.
Excerpt: She had been that bird, as a teenager. Suddenly faced with difficult decisions. Leaving the nest, deciding her future…tangling out emotions.
She had seen a bird once, as a child, fly from the llama fields. A hatchling, no more than a few days old, that had sprung up in from the nest, and away from its family. It quickly joined a group, a flock was the word, and in a single direction it had taken off with them. It had taken off with them because it only seemed natural; at least it looked like to her. But the bird had so much determination; a sense of purpose and drive. It’s like something that had been far too predetermined in the ages for questions.
“Dad, why do birds fly north?”
Her father smiled easily, recalling to put the poncho back in his daughter’s shoulders. “It’s the weather, honey. Birds fly north of the empire to look for Chasca, the Bird God, which grants them warmth for their sacrifice.”
Malina had never been one to fully believe in folk tales. She felt a slight sense of betrayal to her people, but, sometimes even gods didn’t cut it. “But,” Malina said. “How do they know this since birth? They’re so little that it’s hard to believe that they could know from looking at their parents.”
“They’re birds, Malina.” Her father said firmly. “The gods already planned what they know.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“Your mother’s waiting with dinner. And, boy, does it smell good.”
---
She had been that bird, as a teenager. Suddenly faced with difficult decisions. Leaving the nest, deciding her future…tangling out emotions.
Malina switched her crossed legs; it hurt to think about him again. Her mind was clouded, confused, an utter and complete sense of lack of clarity. If only she could have an answer, a reason to help her prove her point. She didn’t need to prove it to anyone, she was sure of. But maybe it mattered more to prove it to herself. Maybe Kuzco had been the reason why she couldn’t explain the things she did sometimes, but why? In all rationality, she could have a million reasons why she could just stop and avoid contact with him. It could have been a simple matter of “I’m not going to talk to you, stay out of my life; you make me want to hate school…”
But yet she didn’t. She continued to be there for him. Through thick and thin, and his arrogance. And she couldn’t deny it. There was a pull to him. Invisible strings, she thought at one point, that made it impossible to deny that she had feelings for the emperor-to-be. The truth was revealed.
She had been a bird more literally than she thought.
There is no reason. Birds fly north because…well, they just do.
For once, Malina had made a mental note to thank Yzma later.
She didn’t need to prove it to anyone. Not even herself. She smiled, and looked down at the sad Kuzco walking down the hills. She felt warm on the inside, and eased into it, spreading her smile even wider. It didn’t make sense to her but, somehow, she felt like it would always be that way. She doubted she would ever find the words to explain it. No, words were unnecessary.
And she had made a decision to follow her instinct.