Third Flame [Voice/Action]

[restoremyhonour]

[Zuko can be found today in the area between house 56 and the barracks. He's looking annoyed, and is working through drills with his dual Dao blades with more focus then he really needs. When he pauses for a moment the journal picks up on his voice, and he's sounding very frustrated]I thought we were through all this. Now she can't even remember

Comments

[markofthebrave]

[And sometime later, Katara is going to come looking for him. She'll stand far back to the side for a while, observing him, trying to match up what Sokka told her and what she sees to the Zuko that she remembers. But she knows this is something that she has to do. He might notice when she approaches that her hand is close to the lid of her canteen. Even with the snow all around, even with all she's been told, what she knows is that he's her enemy and he has swords in his hands.]

Zuko. We need to talk.

[Action] 1/2

[restoremyhonour]

[Zuko's voice is calm as he responds.] What happened? What happened was that I helped you find your mothers killer. Or at least that's when you started trusting me again.

[He looks away from Katara as he continues softly.] And then there was the fight with Azula the day of Sozins Comet.

[Action] 2/2

[restoremyhonour]

But if it's all you'll accept then I give you my word. I won't hurt them. They are my friends.

[Action]

[markofthebrave]

[Gosh, Zuko. Didn't you listen? She said she didn't want to know. As soon as you mention her mother, she takes an instinctive half-step forward. How dare you bring her up!

...they went after her mother's murderer? Why didn't Sokka tell her that? What had happened? Had she killed him? Oh, she wanted to kill him so badly at the moment that she could almost taste it. What's going to come out is very strangled.] Don't you dare talk about my mother.

[She doesn't move. Not one little inch, even though part of her wants to chase down Sokka and beat him for not telling her exactly what had happened. But she's just going to stand there and stare at Zuko until he apologizes for bringing up someone who's nearly sacred to her, and the pain they had shared in the cave. She doesn't want to share anything with him, ever again. She never should have spoken to him about her past at all.]

[Action]

[restoremyhonour]

[There is a frustrated sigh from Zuko. He doesn't back down from Katara's glare.] You were the one that told me about her. I helped you find the leader of the Southern Raiders, the one who killed your mother, so you could have your revenge on him for taking your mother away.

I wouldn't do that for just anybody.

[Action]

[markofthebrave]

[Katara's jaw clenches. She hadn't told him just who had killed her mother. That must have come from his... future knowledge of herself. Unless Sokka had said something... but she wanted to know what had happened. She needed to know what had happened. So she stood her ground.]

Then why did you do it.

[Action]

[restoremyhonour]

Because you need it. You needed to face the man, the firebender, that had caused you that much pain.

[Action]

[markofthebrave]

[Once again, her fists clench at her sides. Part of her wants to storm at him for daring to assume anything about her... but she remembers what Sokka had said. And if he had done this for her...]

Yes. I do.

[Action]

[restoremyhonour]

You did. We tracked down that worthless, pathetic old man.

[Action]

[markofthebrave]

[He wasn't worthless, pathetic, or old in her mind. He was the monster who'd killed her mother. He needed to die.]

What happened.

[Action]

[restoremyhonour]

Well... [Zuko's not a great story teller in the slightest.] We found the Southern Raiders, and, well, you did this body bending thing on the captain, and we found out that the captainwho lead then when your village was attacked was retired now. So we went to find him, and you nearly killed him. You stopped though, because you even though you could never forgive him, you said you couldn't kill such a miserable target. He was on his knees on the muddy road begging for his life.

[Action] 1/2

[markofthebrave]

[He seems sincere. But she's been fooled by his 'sincerity' before. More to the point - just talking about her mother hurts, hearing that she had a chance to go after the man who'd killed her... and she didn't kill him... it infuriates her. But she is able to recognize that anger is not Zuko's fault. He knows about her bloodbending, which isn't possibly something he would have been able to learn on his own. There's got to be some truth here! And hearing about this confrontation is a very different thing than living through it. Had she really trusted Zuko at her back for something this important?

...she can answer that now, anyway. Yes. She'd do it again. If that 'man' was here and Zuko knew how to find him, she'd ignore everything to go after him again.]

[Action]

[markofthebrave]

[Have the smallest measure of trust possible, Zuko. She believes you.]

You're telling me I just let him go?

[Action]

[restoremyhonour]

You nearly killed him. You really scared him a lot. And then you stopped and told him that there was nothing inside of him and ... that he was pathetic and sad and empty ... and that you still hated him but couldn't kill him.

[Action]

[markofthebrave]

...[That did... sound like her. But she's still tense as a bow string and she turns to the side again, fists clenched.]

Thank you for telling me.

[Action] - AIM hates me.

[restoremyhonour]

You're welcome.