eachdraidh | 3 ☼ video / open to both courts

[ it's on the eve of the twentieth zuko chooses to broadcast a message that isn't him getting hit by a boulder. some may be able to glean he's within la llorona, leaning against a particularly angry tree. but none can see its face, for zuko's taking up a good portion of the frame. he's very much a wallflower, preferring to slink off into the shadows unnoticed, but he's fire lord zuko here, not dumb and completely pathetic he might as well rename himself lilly liver zuko. a part of him wishes to honour the quendi as he had done the sun warriors, keeping them shielded in secrecy lest anyone attempt to wage war upon them. but something already has — he can't simply sit by a tree and remain silent. ]

— Uh.

[ okay, his locket is going to behave. ]

Hello. Zuko here.

[ he attempts to think of the best way to approach this, but he's always gone for honesty. as a thirteen year-old, he'd stood up to bluntly defy what had ultimately been his father's orders, refusing to remain silent or even meek before the generals. this is no different, not when a small village has placed their trust within him. ]

La Llorona isn't safe. An evil spirit has been slaying anyone who happens to be near the city of Quendi — it's on your map if you look at it, a little further than where you'll find the La Llorona Ring if you're really blind and walk right by it. If you must travel between rings, go to the one at Redgate or don't travel at all.

[ or simply page 1800-zuko and he'll teleport you anywhere you wish to go. but zuko simply doesn't want anyone else to fall prey to the spirit, not after he'd seen the grief in the eyes of some of the villagers who had lost friends and family to it. ]

Please be careful. And don't do anything stupid.

[ his voice is as hard as his gaze. if anyone is like him, they'll take that as an invitation to be stupid. hence: ]

If you try anything, I want to know.

[ and is that the tone of a fire lord that shouldn't be ignored? why, yes it is. ]

[ he hangs up abruptly, but seconds later, the video flicks on to zuko looking to the side, capturing a nice profile of the good side of his face. his voice is hushed, but firm, as he looks to the locket, beseeching anyone who may have lingered this long after his warning. ]

If anyone can help — Call me. I have a friend who can find it.

[ ho, ho, ho. project blue spirit fugitive is a go! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Nico is paying attention to this broadcast the moment he hears "evil spirit."]

Ghosts are my specialty. What do you need? And do you know anything about the spirit itself? What it had been when it was alive?

[ someone who can talk to ghosts — zuko's uncertain if he wants to talk to it when he simply wants to send it far, far away into the ghost afterlife. ]

I don't talk to spirits. [ if aang were here, he'd be able to tell this boy the spirit's favourite colour, it's feelings on the environment, and whether or not it likes boxers or briefs. zuko? he's not the spirit whisperer. he doesn't care to know, even though he'd be singing a different tune if one were to tell him it's lu ten at his heels. ]

It's killing people. I want to get rid of it.

[ easier said than done. ]

[He shrugs slightly.]

Its history can help identify its weaknesses. And I don't just talk to ghosts. I can control them and send them away to the afterlife, too.

[Either politely sending them or using his sword to absorb their essence, but, you know. Details.]

[ it's an impressive résumé, one that has the cogs in zuko's head spinning. if he could split himself in two, one part of him would travel to redgate while the other would remain near quendi, looking out for the villagers who had sought out help countless times to receive none. but zuko knows, for once, he can't do it on his own. ]

Have you dealt with ones that have killed people and orcs?

[ orcs are kind of ugly, bro. who would want to waste their time killing those guys? ]

Help in what respect?

I want to get rid of it. [ kill it, exorcise it, whatever. zuko dislikes the notion of killing very, very much, but if he captures the spirit in a glass jar, it'll only break free and wreak havoc elsewhere. ] Warning shardbearers to not take the road or to be careful does nothing to help the villagers living within the forest.

If by "get rid of it" one of the options is "chase it off", I can offer my help.

[she's not going to pretend she has any supernatural powers, but it doesn't mean she can't fight when given a reason to. and right now, she knows she needs to network. if spirit hunting is what it takes, so be it.]

I don't know what makes an "evil spirit" different from anything else that needs to be killed, but I imagine there's a way just the same. Obviously people traveling that way need protection, in the meantime—are they getting it, or do they need it?

Hmmm? [WHAT'S THIS SHIT? SOME SPIRIT, BARKING UP ON HIS TERRITORY?

...Or, is Zuko talking about him?]

How strange. Those spirits seemed pretty peaceful, if you ask me.

Ugh. Seeing as someone has been enslaving spirits there, this doesn't surprise me.

[ Though that doesn't mean she likes it. ]

My manor is in the forest, on the other side of the fairy ring from Quendi. The forest as a whole isn't safe; things lurking around making it worse definitely isn't good.

I'll help.

[ if someone's been enslaving spirits, they certainly suck at their hobby as this one's been out and about and killing people. it doesn't make him feel any better, knowing someone knows something he hadn't known that could've helped him if he knew the identity of the spirit enslaver. what if scenarios are his favourite things to juggle. even though the information does nothing to truly assist him, as he'd need to inquire for a name, where this eprson is, and possibly what they look like, she seems to know the terrain better than him. ]

How can you help me?

I know the forest, and there are people in Dorchadas who- respect me. [ Worship, actually, though it's more her shadow form than the young woman. Still. ] I can talk to them, see what information they might have that they might not share otherwise.

And I can be very hard to detect, when it comes down to it.

I was in La Llorona a week ago.

[She doesn't mention that she got lost or was helping some vampires.]

I thought it felt different.

It's in Quendi? [ quendi had been decidedly creepy in the time that thomas had gone there on his small quest--he must have just missed this, by inches. but if zuko's asking for help, he's happy to provide. ] My friend and I made a pretty detailed map of the city and the area around it. Maybe we can help find where it's hiding out?

[ thomas pauses. ] You don't do anything stupid, either. If you need anything...

[ zuko is the king of stupid decisions. please do not usurp him. ]

It is. Some villagers and I tried to hunt it down, but I couldn't do anything about it. [ there's frustration in his tone as one hand balls into a fist off-camera. being useless is what he's been told he was for the entirety of his life. feeling it is a completely different kind of bitterness. ]

I want to go back after I go to Redgate. Do you have any copies? It might be good to ask them where their friends had disappeared so we can track it.

[ bad decision bears thomas and zuko ]

I don't, but, I trust you enough not to lose it. [ as long as zuko doesn't like, set it on fire or something, it should be fine. thomas'll explain it to minho later, but he wants to help, and if this is what he can do, then so be it. ] I can meet you out there and give it to you when you get back, if you want.

3 ☼ video / open to both courts

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