eachdraidh | ✘ video / after the feast / open to both courts

[ Hans has made pretty good legwork around Caer Scima during and after the feast, but that's not quite enough to satisfy his curiosity on a few matters - the locket, for one, and the other court for another. So he might as well kill two birds with one stone, right? Besides, while he's still getting his bearings, the best thing he could do what get to know as many people as possible. He hates being so unfamiliar with, well, everyone.

So he greets the video feed with a friendly, enthusiastic grin, his actual exhaustion buried deep beneath the surface. ]

Good evening! I apologize for the interruption, but I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself. I'm Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, and I've only just arrived in this world. As you might imagine, it's a bit overwhelming. If wouldn't mind taking a moment of your time to help me better understand the conflict going on here, I would appreciate it.

[ Then, after a thoughtful moment: ] And for curiosity's sake, who else is a royal in their own world? Surely, I can't be the only lucky one here.

[ Sure, lucky, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. ]

Thank you for listening. I hope we'll be able to cross paths in person soon.

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[ Wait, this guy was the equivalent of a king? Well, that is certainly surprising. Then again, the title does sometimes fall conveniently in one's lap when their father drops dead. Not that he would know any such luck personally.

He keeps the skepticism in his voice in check. ] Ah, my apologies, Your Highness - unless there's a different way I should be appropriately addressing the Fire Lord?

[ yeah, yeah, yeah, zuko can't even believe it, either. but when your dad is a douche and your sister is insane and your mother is missing in action, someone has to step up to the plate — and the man he deems more worthy of the title refuses to, preferring to be king of his own tea shop. it's his destiny, to right the wrongs of his own ancestors, and to bring the world, not simply just the fire nation, to peace. but that's not something hans may wish to hear, nor is it something zuko wishes to say, already doubting his own ability to hold a needle and thread with steady hands. ]

[ zuko cringes at your highness. as crown prince, it'd been different, a recognition of status he had been born with and surrounded by since he could remember, but it means something different, now. toph had rubbed it in his face in her own little, annoying earthbender way. it still rubs him raw, it being somewhat of a joke he's the fire lord. ] Don't call me that. [ it's not as snappish as it could've been, but he's neither comfortable with his own minor outburst, either. ] Zuko. It's just Zuko. [ he does look slightly sheepish. ] Fire Lord Zuko is a mouthful, anyway ...

[ but he frowns. he doesn't particularly want the spotlight on him. ] Why are you asking? What's so lucky about being royalty here? Being Fire Lord means nothing — you didn't even know what it was!

[ Hans had been insisting people use his name instead of his royal title himself, but if he had to guess, he'd suspect Zuko didn't want to be called "Your Highness" for very different reasons than Hans. Hans liked his title but waived it because it made others more comfortable around him. Zuko didn't even seem to like his.

And Hans doesn't get that. Not at all. How could Zuko not see how lucky he was to be a king? Ridiculous. ]

Alright then. Zuko. I wouldn't say it means nothing, but you're right. We definitely don't hold the same kind of positions here. I just thought it might be nice to meet some people like me.

[ he's the fire lord, yet he holds no power in this country. at least he has found another who may feel as helpless as he does, frustrated by the invisible chains that shouldn't be tied around the wrists of a king or prince. he's required to bow and bend the knee to another king — but at least it's not azula. ]

[ it's curiousity he feels. are there others like them out there? zuko had met none — no royalty, save for the thrones of the high-king and high-queen, but they existed within drabwurld, not other countries that had no place on his own maps. that fire in his tone is gone. ] ... And have you?

Well, I met you, didn't I? [ Sounding as friendly as ever, but he is wondering if it was a question worth his time. It would likely still yet be awhile before he could determine that - and seeing what these acquaintances proved to be. ]

[ zuko doesn't count. zuko's rules. ]

Princes. [ it comes out just a little forcefully. he amends that. ] Did you meet any other princes? [ since that clarification may get him an answer that isn't you. zuko is never the answer, even if it had been his destiny to be the answer to the turmoil his great grandfather had caused. ]

Not strictly speaking, no. [ A king, a water tribe princess-plus-Avatar, and the son of a god, but no other princes yet. ]

So, what? It's just you and me? [ zuko pulls a nice plurk emote's (unsure) face. that doesn't make him feel any at ease. when he would've liked to have been the only prince in all the land, he doesn't want to be special in drabwurld. what happens if that means he has to deal with more imps? ]

[ they really like him and he does not like it. ]

I thought you were a king. [ Was that a note a bitterness in his voice? Surely not... ] My apologies - a Fire Lord.

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