eachdraidh | 5 ✦ video ✦ unseelie lockets

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5 ✦ video ✦ unseelie lockets

[when the feed comes on, Grell looks calm, put together, in more practical clothing than her favoured dresses. it's early morning, and the sunlight is illuminating the space outside where she is.]

Right then. The call to arms has been proclaimed once again, and I'm more than aware that there are those of us who either know little about what's expected of us, or who have let their joints rust over in the calm.

That ends today. Preparations at the Ward have been re-established for the month, and if you are uncertain in your abilities, wish to try something out, or need to know which end of a sword to grab, attend the training sessions that will be held there for shardbearers and natives alike. Beginner's sessions are in the morning like always, eight thirty sharp, and that's being generous. Advanced sessions are in the afternoon, but that's hardly an excuse to sleep in too late - if last time has taught us anything, it is that we need to be the sharpest we can.

Those that are confident enough in their skills that believe themselves capable of giving instruction, wherever you are in Allaidh Darach, please make yourself known to me - I can hardly carry out this task on my own. I'll be running on good faith, but if I hear that you can't live up to your claims, you will be ousted and I'll see to it that you know exactly what I think of you wasting students' time.

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By the end of this month you'll have them working to the limit under the noonday sun. But not before they're ready - and frankly, I think you're going to have more fun with those who think they're already advanced. Proving to them that they don't know everything...it won't be just me calling you teacher.

[ this praise is going to make zuko's head explode. whenever he's done anything, he's always been ridiculed for it, berated and belittled. grell may not have katara's whimsical words and tone, but she has her hope and belief in the impossible (and that's usually him). ]

You don't have to call me teacher. You can just call me Zuko. [ is that a joke? it's a mystery. but zuko finds himself burning a little under such a spotlight. ] You teach me things, too, Grell. Even when we're not meeting up at eight-thirty in the morning.

Like what, moderation?

[her tone is almost teasing, but under it she genuinely doesn't know what she offers him other than being someone that listens to his stories and gives him a place to demonstrate his skill and impart it to others.]

[ zuko stares at her, as if unimpressed by her teasing. he likes it, even though he doesn't laugh like toph would, doesn't become offended and argumentative like sokka, or as embarrassed as katara. he's zuko; he's not so used to being on the end of a tease unless it's uncle saying something dense and profound about tea or food or something. ]

[ he isn't unimpressed for the sake of not being able to take a joke. he isn't so sure if he's reading into it, but he takes it seriously — what she doesn't say. ]

[ so casually, he talks. ] My friend, Aang, made me his firebending teacher. He was born an airbender, and grew up with the Air Nomads, which means he didn't know earthbending, firebending, or waterbending. He was the Avatar. He could bend all four elements, but he had to learn. [ as amazing as being the avatar sounds, it's tiring and demanding, not only for the sole fact the avatar is a saviour, but for the reason of being expected to master each element and hold little to no flaws in it. ]

[ there's a slight quirk to his lips, but he doesn't outright smile. there's fondness in his voice, though. ] He had Toph and Katara, and they were really good. Toph is really tough, just like her name, and Katara's thorough and a good teacher. But out of all the people he chose to teach him firebending, especially when he could've chosen my uncle who's the Dragon of the West, he chose me.

I've only had a few people believe in me. [ zuko shrugs. ] You're one of them.

[she falls quiet upon receiving the serious answer, expression falling and showing how surprised she is that he took it so to heart.

she won't press as to why people wouldn't believe in him - it's not her place, and she values Zuko enough that she will let him tell her if he feels like it, or keep it close to his chest. either way, she values that he's telling her this at all.]

...I think I know why he chose you, if I could be so bold as to think that.

Other firebenders hate Aang because he's the Avatar. He had no one else.

[ even though zuko sometimes believes it, thinking aang had come to him and declared him his firebending teacher because there was no one else, he knows that it's not completely true. there's uncle, who is a firebending master, and perhaps some avatar sympathisers hidden in the nation, somewhere, far, far away from where the gang would be able to find anyone. ]

[ it's easier for him to dismiss himself than it is to accept who he is, the person his father refuses to acknowledge as being someone worth being proud of. but uncle does, to the degree of embarrassing him. ]

[ zuko shrugs his shoulders, because it's a hell of a lot easier to brush it all aside than to accept it. ]

I had to prove I was good, too. I wasn't really nice to him.

Because he was the Avatar, or because he was a stranger who you had to be wary of?

[it's clear by her posture that she's shifted to listening to this whole story of his.]

He was ...

[ zuko pauses. it's unfortunate this is video, as she can see how his expression pinches. he finds himself thinking of azula, too. ]

He was someone who deserved better from me. I always thought of him as the Avatar, but he was a person, too. It took too long for me to see that.

[ he presses his lips together, but it's within a breath from when he finishes speaking, nonsensical, he presumes, to her, that he looks at his communicator and at her. ]

I need to tell you something.

...Is it something we should meet in person to discuss?

[ zuko thinks to tell her it's not that important that they need to meet in person, but he doesn't want to tell her over the locket, either. it feels impersonal if he does. telling her his sister is here isn't something that should be done over the communicator, even though it would be easier to hide over it if he did. but grell is someone who is high up on the unseelie food chain, and she's his friend. ]

[ someone might hear it, and zuko ... he's a little paranoid about what might happen if someone finds out and decides to poke the dragon. ]

[ and maybe it's important for him he says it aloud to someone, face to face, without the chance to use the locket to hide. there's no one he trusts more than grell to look out for azula in case something happens to him. ]

I can come to you. Where can I find you?

I'm at the Ward - I'll keep an eye out for you.

[and the expression she shoots him is one of slight concern before she snaps the locket shut. whatever it was, it was big, it meant a lot, and she wasn't going to make him say it through a method that could be so easily seen by others with the inclination.]

[ zuko will always brush his own things aside. it's not necessarily a big deal, even though zuko knows it is. toph and sokka had been important to him, but they weren't so integral to his existence that he'd be able to survive with or without them. they were his friends, his support system — and he had found friends in people like grell who have only helped him stand stronger. ]

[ azula, though ... he knows if something was to happen to her, he'd feel more responsible than before. he'd placed her somewhere she didn't want to be, somewhere that's only made her feel worse about herself. if he was more of a target for the seelie, they'd paint a bullseye on her back to try and kick his feet from out under him. ]

[ and she's his little sister. it means something. ]

[ with the disconnect, zuko pockets his locket before he inhales deeply, wanting to ground himself. he doesn't need to when it comes to his teleporting, but he likes to do so, anyway. within a blink, he's gone from caer scima and appears at the ward, dressed in red, his hair as floppy and shaggy as ever, and his expression neutral, although not on purpose. ]

[ he gets out his communicator to call her, just in case. ]

Zuko.

[her voice rings across the yard - she sees the red before anything else, and comes over to him at a measured pace. best to not seem too concerned about this matter until she actually knew what it was.]

You got here quick.

[the Ward's filled with the low hum of teachers setting up before the sun rises too highly, some practising alone, the clank of metal and the thud of wood being moved into place. it's calming, to her, hearing this order being set up, knowing it will be a ruckus later that's equally grounding.]

I walk really fast.

[ it's clear it's a joke by his smile. his legs may be long, and he may still be growing even taller, but zuko's not that quick of a walker. he's travelled all over the drabwurld by now. teleporting to those locations almost seems like a cheat to him. ]

[ he looks around, noticing the teachers, the soft sounds in the distance. ]

This place looks good, Grell. I hope it can take a little fire.

It's seen more than fire in its time - the Masters at Arms were rather generous when I explained the situation. Not as though they haven't needed to intensively train for battle before, and some of them will be teaching the classes. All in all, it's a better setup than I managed to secure last time.

[she smiles, a hint of pride in her expression. it had taken effort to get this done so swiftly, but it was going to work, and safe within Caer Scima's grounds like this...]

[ he wonders if these trainers would put his intenseness to shame, but he doubts it. grell may have said something if anyone threatened to douse out his flame. ]

You did good, Grell. [ he looks back to her with a smile. ]

[ as much as he'd like to stall with asking her for a tour, zuko can feel the tension sit against his shoulders. ]

Is there somewhere we can talk? [ he looks toward the people milling about. he doubts any of them would care, but zuko's always been slightly paranoid. ]

Of course.

[where she leads him isn't inside anywhere, but there's enough of a ledge to sit on and the people aren't coming over. it's as much of a place to be undisturbed as you can get without leaving the area.]

What's on your mind?

[ he follows her easily, and sits on the ledge, finding that it grounds him better than standing does. he can kick his feet out, even swing them, but zuko won't sway or even think to run away if he's seated. ]

[ he pauses for a moment, bowing his head as he thinks. everyone has always known who azula was. most people knew who he was, unless he cut his hair and covered his face and went by another name entirely. it's strange for him to feel like he needs to introduce people to crown princess azula when he's always taken their royalty for granted. ]

[ he looks at grell. ] My sister's here. Azula. [ the name won't ring any bells for her, but zuko says it, anyway, like as if he needs to say her name to ground himself in the fact that this is real. ] She's in our court. She's a firebender like me, but better. She's better than I could ever hope to be.

[she sits next to him, keeping her hands to the side, posture relaxed. she doesn't want to make him go faster than he wants - that's the quickest way to get him to close back up, she thinks.

so, Azula. she'll remember it, and she nods.]

Is she like you?

[intense. driven. loyal. a somewhat sturdy core. anything to latch onto and try to envision what his sister might be like.]

[ zuko pauses. is she like him? she's a firebender. she's determined. she's a product of ozai. zuko doesn't look at himself and see the positive traits, other than the fact he had been able to see his mistakes and had learned from them. he knows azula is the same, but would she ever look back and tell him i was wrong? ]

[ he shakes his head. ] No. She's … She's like Father. [ zuko frowns, trying to find a way to describe a girl who has always just been my sister to him for his entire life. ] She wants to be the best. She is the best. She doesn't really look at her friends and see them as friends.

[ he looks to grell, then. ] I don't know if you can trust her. [ azula always lies, he thinks to say, but he doesn't want to. he finds it's blocked, prevented from climbing up the ladder of his throat. ] I don't know if I can trust her. We were on opposite sides of the war, and I don't think she would've hesitated to kill me.

[ he looks down, bangs brushing their way into his eye line. ] I don't know if it's the same here. [ his voice grows softer. ] But I don't want anything to happen to her.

[you love her. the thought is unspoken, but loud in her mind. even if he had just rattled off traits that would have usually been followed by some type of "be careful."

she's his sister, and he loves her, no matter what she's done.]

How will I know her?

[so that if the time came on the battlefield, if she saw her, she could be aware, so that if needed she'd draw the blows away and keep this Azula alive.]

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5 ✦ video ✦ unseelie lockets

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