[open to all!]

[found_myway]

The medical care available on Stacy is far beyond anything that the Four Nations had, better even than the powers of skilled waterbenders to heal. Which is why Zuko is lying in discomfort now, not raging agony, as the burn on his back heals

Comments

[found_myway]

"You could sit in a chair, you know."

Zuko doesn't exactly look dignified, with his face squished in a donut-pillow.

[found_myway]

"It's sweet that you care."

Zuko smirks at Hiccup through the donut-pillow, but in truth, he might actually be touched.

"I had to stop Mai from killing her. Which you're not to tell anyone, or you won't have a teacher anymore, got it?"

Not that Mai would probably be making a secret of wanting Azula dead, but Zuko didn't need others spreading that around the ship, taking Mai's words out of her mouth before she could say them.

"Besides. Now the crew has proof that Azula's as crazy as I say she is. She won't have to put someone else in the hospital before they'll listen to me."

This . . . might have actually been the intended outcome.

Even if Zuko didn't necessarily know it from the start.

[found_myway]

"No. I really WAS trying to stop my girlfriend from killing her and getting Punishment."

Sacrifices must be made.

"This is just an added benefit."

Says the guy with his back and face burned off.

[found_myway]

"You're under some impression that I never do stupid things?"

Clearly you've never talked to the rest of the Gaang. Ever.

[found_myway]

"Yeah, well, I wasn't."

It happens, when you're fighting someone whose flame is so hot it burns blue. Even Ozai couldn't burn with that much force.

"Here's another lesson. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, you have to make choices. Sometimes they work, but not perfectly. But if you waited around for the perfect moment each time, the one where there's never a risk that you might have to sacrifice something, you'll never accomplish anything."

His eyes narrow, as he tries to glance at Hiccup's missing leg.

"Didn't you already learn that?"

[found_myway]

"So we'll just call each other stupid when we're being stupid, and if we're ever stupid together, hope we don't die from it."

Zuko chuckles.

"I don't think I'll be telling Mai about this plan."

[found_myway]

Zuko laughs again, enjoying the brief levity before returning to serious things.

"Azula's in the brig now, but they're too soft on criminals around here."

Until those criminals get Punishment, and then even Zuko feels sorry for them.

"They'll probably take pity on her and let her out."

Not having control over where his crazy sister stays, and who cares for her, chafes at Zuko a little. He's Fire Lord now. If he says the crazy girl ought to stay in an asylum, and various respected Fire Nation doctors agree with him, locked up she ought to stay.

"I don't want you to talk to her. Ever. I'm not kidding."

[found_myway]

"Exactly. Maybe you're thinking she can be negotiated with? You're wrong. She was sadistic when she was 8. She probably wouldn't even need to know we're friends to want to hurt you."

And yeah, Zuko just admitted they're friends. Aww.

"You're a peasant, and you don't have any skills she'd think were useful to her. That kind of makes you worthless in her eyes. That's what she's like."

Scare Hiccup away from her now. Zuko knows too well that his buddy is a little bit too good at pestering people who could, and might, hurt him.

"You see her, you walk away. She follows you, you run. You think she wants to talk to you? You run faster. Those are orders. I'm still not kidding."