intro|katara atla|no event (locked to azure_prodigy)
Her calloused fingertips dragged over the satiny walls of the Hotel's hallway; her steps were light and careful as a fawn's as she studied her surroundings as she half expected a predator to show up and drag her into one of the rooms with it’s claws. Of course, the predator would realize Katara had more than a few tricks when it came to getting
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It made Katara uncomfortable.
So she thinks. A lot of this room makes her uncomfortable, the heat that fills her lungs and the tingle down her skin and it’s just aggravating. It’s not like this at the Fire Nation. Even the homes in the Fire Nation provide some coolness and she’s sure there’s a hook up in the palace to make it cooler.
“You lost. You lost hard.” Katara says with a frown. No one is quite sure what made Azula break down so completely. Fate? Luck? She has no idea, other than the fact she was able to take Azula down after she cheated in striking Zuko.
“Oh, I’m hoping you will. I just know you won’t and we’re not going to be here forever. I told you, this brother has a mind of it’s own.” She tosses her head and walks towards a chair. She slides into it, profile highlighted by fire and showing her clothes are sticking maddingly in places they shouldn’t. “And I recall you and your little goons-“ She winced, she really liked Mai and Ty Lee but if this Azula hadn’t cracked yet… well… “-were riding with the rest of them.”
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Even the palace itself is spared the sweltering atmosphere of this room. It wouldn't have been Azula's first choice of occupancy, but it's where the Hotel deposited her, and before she could make an attempt to switch or hunt for an exit, the Waterbender stumbled on a wayward chunk of carpet and trapped them both inside.
"I still don't see why I should believe you." Anyone can lie, and though the Water peasant frowns with the assertion, something about it rings false. Princess Azula never fails; never settles for a loss. Assuming the unthinkable had truly happened, she would dust herself off and forge ahead. This explanation is empty and doesn't sound a thing like her.
"...You seem to know a lot about this place," the Firebender begins tersely. "Since you're so certain, tell me how a door seemingly impervious to Firebending will open." Azula stares after the older girl, lips drawn tight as she takes a seat in a chair closest to the room's only active light source. Doesn't she realize her clothes are stuck to her? Why doesn't she do something about it? The Princess would never allow something so uncomfortable and baring for herself. She inhales sharply, releasing the intake of air in a heavy sigh, a thin trail of smoke accompanying the forced breath. It wafts lazily through air so saturated by moisture. The wince is noted, but not pursued. "The structure had its faults, obviously, to be broken apart the way it was. Had I been present to oversee its construction, that never would have happened."
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But it was the room that Azula decided to stay in, the one that felt like a sauna with it's particular brand of steam. If Katara focused, she realized, she could see the vapors too. Sometimes she was able to feel the stirring of water among the opalescence clouds but she couldn't quite feel anything of the sort of the vapors that danced lazily above her head and around her.
"Believing me or not is up to you. If you don't want to believe me, I'm perfectly fine about that." As much as the Watermaid felt pity for her 'world's' fallen Princess, she didn't feel enough to regert the good that happened after Azula's fall. Or the ego boost she had in displaying her abilities so marvelously.
She absently pulled at the cloth clinging to her chest and frowned at it with annoyance. "Instead of sitting in one place, I actually decided to explore and learn about it. Really, I thought you'd gain value in studying your surroundings to get a better understanding of your situation."
When the outfit wasn't so damp and sticking to her sandalwood skin, the Fire Nation skirt and top were actually very comfortable. And there wasn't much she could do to the now ultra revealing material besides dry it and that would mean taking it off. "So you've suddenly become an engineer on top of up everything else?" She delicately snorted and turned her head away with her arms crossed under her breasts.
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The Fire Princess's "choice" to stay in this room is half-true. Perhaps she could've made a quicker attempt to leave and find a more accommodating space for herself. She'd planned to, after relieving herself of the suddenly burdensome armor. Her natural immunity to warm, humid climates was being tested, and she had succumbed. But everything looks easier with foresight, and if Azula could rewind to a time before the peasant's bumbling condemned her to this sauna, she likely would.
"I might be more inclined to believe you if you didn't skimp on specifics." The Princess quirks an eyebrow, unconvinced. "Why bring it up at all if you don't care what I think?" She'd been taught that most everything had a reason, unless people were too dull-witted to rationalize their own behaviors. Begrudgingly, she realizes Katara is no such person.
"I was about to," she defends. "Unlike you, I'm not dressed like a common courtesan. You couldn't have lasted half as long as I did in heavy armor." It's an admittance, but also a jab at the sultry clothing adhering to her enemy's form. She exhales another weighted breath, electing to seat herself on the edge of the bed. It suddenly seems like a good idea to. "I didn't give you permission to sit in that chair."
If the Water peasant wanted to continue fussing with her clothes, so be it -- Azula could always look away. Which she's trying to do, but some unforeseen force appears to hold her gaze relatively steady. "I've always been a fast learner," the Princess shrugs, indifferent to the other girl's skepticism.
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It turned out to be a wise idea for Katara; the hallway was a bit steamy but never unbearable like this. It didn't have this fake water vapor that curled around and teased their senses. Okay, there was some, but there was something else.
"Oh, but then that would make me a nice person. And between you and your brother, I'm not as nice as I used to be." Somewhere, Katara could hear Sokka laughing. She gives Azula a smile then, sharp and cool as a glacier. "So I'll let you think whatever you want to think." There had to be a little bit of pay back for the suffering Azula's... past-future self? ... has done.
Besides, it was an excellent way to keep her distracted from the strangeness pooling between her legs. She actually was familiar with the sensation; terribly familiar. But she wasn't going to acknowledge it. "I didn't exactly have a choice either." She frowns, touching where her mother's necklace used to be. Maybe it's safe... somewhere. Katara looks up at Azula and then scowls, blue eyes back to ice. She defiantly bounces in the chair and wiggles upon it before she settles down upon it. "It doesn't matter what you think you are, you're not what you used to be. No one has to listen to you. As if I ever would."
She was... slightly aware of the display she just presented. The clothes were becoming just more damp and the entire action is lewd but she hadn't meant it to be lewd. Just defiant. "Or you're under the impression that you are."
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Evey facet of the room is a recipe for disaster. The moisture-laden air, the silk sheets draped surreptitiously about an expansive bed, the shadows that dance about the walls (and Katara)... it's all overtly sexual, and Azula doesn't understand why it matters.
"How bitter, for someone so righteous." Not that it means anything... if the peasant wants to be vindictive, it's her prerogative. Azula doubts the validity of her claims, anyway. "I know what you say is folly. You're trying to wear me down -- it won't work."
She shifts almost imperceptibly, golden eyes seeking a weakness in the brave veneer. The Waterbender certainly became more abstract and empowered through the shift in time. But there had to be a chink somewhere. At least she looks uncomfortable, but from what cause? "What happened to escaping? You never answered my question, and I would surmise you know more about this place than I do, judging by your confidence. Could it be that you're starting to enjoy my company?" A little bit of arrogance should help with her own growing discomfort. Between the acridity of the air and her foe's unfortunate garb, Azula is in pressing need of a distraction.
She almost appears to wince at the display, the gauzy fabric exasperating the bounce of Katara's bosom. "I haven't lost my power, no matter how much you might wish it." Her arms cross about her chest in her own show of defiance. "I'm hailed as a prodigy for a reason."
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"Whatever," Katara dismisses her words with a gesture. She has the past on her side, and if Azula doesn't want to prepare of a loss that's completely fine with her.
She stares back at Azula, and then her blue eyes focus on the shadows, the fire, the be-- no, not the bed. She focuses on the nightstand and the carpet. "We can't escape, there's only one way to get out." Katara's hips shift uncomfortably. "We have to do what the Hotel wants us to do."
She pauses and looks at her feet. "It wants occupants to have sex."
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The Firebender snorts at the immature dismissal. This is petty banter, and meaningless in the grand scheme of things. For what reason would the Watermaiden admit to defeat? Of course she'll make something up. To secede to the Fire Nation's triumph would only serve to embolden Azula. No friend of the Avatar wants that.
Katara's gaze wavers, hips shifting against the cushion of the chair, and the Princess sucks in a breath. "How do you know there's only 'one' way?"
...And so comes the big reveal. At first, Azula's jaw works, producing no sound until she can collect her thoughts. "...It can want whatever, but that's absurd." Her posture straightens, an effort amidst the room's oppression and the beginnings of arousal. "It isn't funny, peasant."
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Simply because Katara is wise enough not to give any details; even if she knew exactly what was going on. Zuko knew she was off, Katara also knew her friends betrayed her though she didn't know about Ozai's dismissal. And she wasn't even listening to the warning.
"I've been here for... two or three days. I've been watching and talking and people have been here for seasons. And more than just one person said that and I've heard things." Katara snaps, fists at her sides.
The aching between her legs increase sharply as she studies the Fire Princess, her expression neutral. "Give me one reason why I would lie about that? Why would I even want that?"
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The Princess would sooner dismiss it altogether. After her glorious takeover of the Earth Kingdom's final stronghold, she has no reason to doubt her abilities -- or her future. It all sounds like a jumbled mass of contradictions; par for the course from a desperate peasant.
"How trustworthy are these sources of yours? It's a brothel. That much is obvious. But you're trying to tell me this is mandatory?" The younger girl's voice is nearly as frantic -- if the Waterbender was actually telling the truth, this is...
It's unthinkable.
Azula abruptly crosses her legs, right over left. The motion isn't as discreet as she would like, 'lest her enemy's gaze happen to be elsewhere. "You're still trying to throw me off."
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But she wasn't a desperate peasant... well, strike that. He desperation was simply due to her current situation and even then it would pass. She took a deep breath as the idea sunk into her. Locked, in a room, with Azula. She could count her blessings; a sane Azula could be reasoned with once the gravity of the situation got under the skin. An insane Azula...
Well, better to starve to death than give into a chaotic dragon.
"Just about everyone I've seen." Her shaky voice becomes firm as her sky color gaze locks on fiery gold. "I've been walking and running out there for days in a straight hallway. There isn't a known building that you can walk in a straight hallway for two days. My sources told me about that too. That's why I believe them about this."
Katara bit her lower lip and her hands quietly crossed over her breasts. She didn't like how they were feeling and she vaguely notices the crossing of legs. It reminds her of how her father and brother sat in chairs but... she didn't give it much of a thought. "On top of this, everyone's been telling me about drugs like opium that make your body aroused or alters your mind."
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The Waterbender has every right to be unnerved by the situation. Arguably, it'll be harder on her than for Azula, for a few reasons. Not to say it'll be a cakewalk for the Fire Princess, either: this girl is below her station and "impure", and it seems a bitter joke by the insidious Hotel to force them together.
Even when sane, Azula adheres to a draconic persona, but she's more reasonable than a wildly thrashing counterpart who blows fire out of her ears and nose.
That fiery gold disappears briefly in a blink as the information is processed; one can almost see the wheels turning in Azula's head. "An endless building. I take it no one has found a way out? What point is there to this?"
It doesn't strike Azula as spiritual (not that she puts much stock into spirituality to begin with). Spirits wouldn't do this... would they? Even in the Fire Nation, the most socially progressive nation in the world, sexuality and promiscuity aren't flaunted or thrown about carelessly. After all, everyone dresses in such heavy robes. As royalty, she's been relatively sheltered, but this strikes her as being far beyond anything their world has to offer.
Her eyes widen just a tad as Katara's hands settle upon her breasts. While it doesn't read purposefully lewd, it still... holds implications. The foot of her crossed leg bounces impatiently, another attempt at distraction from the heat gathering in her loins. "Because this place wasn't bad enough on its own..."
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"No one knows." Katara says blankly. "There are cruel spirits in the world who do not care for human life and enjoy human suffering. She's been lucky enough to only deal with the earlier and not the later. The tales of Koh make her shiver down her spine. "But it doesn't feel like home..."
Katara was attempting to cover herself and she ducked head down. She didn't like the feeling that was under her skin. The water bender is aware of her own heat between her legs and setting on her breasts. "No, because it knows there are people who wouldn't go through it otherwise."
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It was over too soon. And her partner told her so. She's not exactly eager to relive that experience. Katara is just the type to point out any perceived flaw as a strike against the Princess's ego.
"I see." Tales of Koh exist throughout the world, extending even to Fire territory, but the prodigy has always taken them with a grain of salt. A frown pulls the corners of her mouth downward. "You're right about that much. This isn't home."
Her head tilts, following the motion of Katara's hands upon her breasts. The Waterbender acts so ashamed of... looking the way she does in those clothes? Feeling a certain way? Her own chest feels warm and her heartbeat grows increasingly more apparent. Couldn't be because Katara is in any way attractive, of course not. It's almost a strain to sit this way, legs crossed instead of open, but... it's for the best, Azula knows. "So what do you propose we do about it?"
She isn't above pushing responsibility off onto someone else, especially if said task makes her uncomfortable.
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"It's true. Just because you haven't been 'lucky' to meet one." Katara mumbles, head still bowed and hair veils her face and upper torso. Her legs were pressed tightly together as if shielding them from Azula's gaze. She glances up once and sees Azula frown.
She looks back down, knowing her hair is meager protection from the Princess' gaze. Her body is eager now and she is restless and it's that stupid drug that's floating in the vapors. She simply knows it. Her thighs ache, her breasts are tight and the material is clingy and she hates it.
She is simply ashamed of everything and she doesn't want this to happen. It's not her fault it happens and it really isn't Azula's fault either but... it's easier to hate a person than a building. "I don't know... you lay down and do whatever and I sit here and do whatever? Of course, if the stupid hotel wanted us to do whatever it wouldn't have pushed me in here..."
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The Firebender shrugs indifferently, privately amused by her enemy's blatant effort to squeeze her thighs together. Why bother? It's not as though there's anything to hide. ...Not like Azula has. The Water peasant is obviously aroused, and it'd be fun to watch if she weren't struggling with her own reactions to the accursed vapors. "No, I believe you. You aren't acting like you're lying."
Thankfully, the prodigy has a bit more control than her senior. Her ow body is restless and in growing need, but she's able to reign it in a little more convincingly. Now, if Katara had come closer, it might be a different story... but there's distance between them, and the positioning of her legs appears to be working. Working as a buffer for sight. It doesn't stop the rising ache.
She finds herself chuckling at the awkward statement. "...'Do whatever'? You really aren't one for specifics, are you?"
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