eachdraidh | 2 ☼ video / open to both courts

[ zuko is not going to tearbend. ]

[ he may have found toph's shard, tucked safely away where no one, not even reynard, would be able to steal it, and her metal bracelet, worn around his thin wrist, but he will not tearbend. he knows what it means. toph never abandons him, not even when he's annoyed her until she starts calling him sparky just to see him grit his teeth and steam pour from his ears. toph's the one thing in drabwurld that actually stayed — and it's his fault she's gone. even though it's completely and utterly irrational, guilt eats away at him for leaving her alone, believing his own treachery to the unseelie court would only require him to complete a personal quest to see to it his honour is restored. but toph's gone — save for her metal bracelet, the one he never really had seen her take off. had they stripped her of that before they'd taken her, too? he doesn't plan on keeping her bracelet, determined to give it back to her once he finds her again. but it's better to be worn on his person than to be left in his suite, the imps' feet running closer and closer to his door with each passing day he lingers in drabwurld — either at the station or in caer scima. ]

[ his expression is a permanent scowl. two imps can be seen running from him outside the castle of caer scima, their behinds burnt and some of their hair still caught aflame. they keep shouting we don't know where toph is!, but it only seems to make zuko angrier, hands balling into tight fists. in toph's honour, he sends a blast of fire along the grass, slithering quickly toward them like a serpent, to see to it they shriek and jump high into the air. ]

Toph's gone. The imps didn't take her, but I don't believe them.

[ he's not sure what to even believe anymore. he can barely believe in himself, and that's already a can of worms he's trying to shove the lid back on. ]

[ petulantly, he utters, ] Whatever. [ it's not like it matters; he doesn't even know if anyone outside of those in the unseelie even know toph. do they just think he's saying tough? she'd laugh at that; he grits his teeth. anyone would find their life was made ten times better just by her being around. they'd arrived in drabwurld together, they were meant to leave together. ]

[ it appears as though he's about to blast a tree, or even his own locket, held as though another is merely directing it, but he doesn't. much louder, ] I hate this place.

[ and he leans forward to grab his locket and tosses it as far as he can, shooting a thick burst of flame at it as the imp that had been recording him scampers away, its body seen blurred by the camera tumbling into darkness. ]

[ for anyone at caer scima, zuko's in the bailey, sitting against a willow tree, sulking. either he wears his frown, arms crossed against his chest, or he's looking at his locket, as if contemplating burning it until it's ash, even though it seems almost indestructible against his fire. if toph were here ... well, she's not. and he's not chasing any imps or playing practical jokes (nor is he going to the feast later today to do such a thing) on anyone because of that very reason. ]

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[ he sincerely doubts it sounds like a good idea to her. hadn't she been against him antagonising the imps? everyone in drabwurld seems to be. but he appreciates her not scolding him all the same. uncle would probably reprimand him and say imps were people, too, and probably enjoyed a good cup of tea if the offer to brew it was given. ]

Isn't that out of your way? [ he feels guilty at the thought. people going out of their way for him is a hard fire flake to swallow sometimes. he's so used to doing things himself, even if there happened to be guards who would've fetched him a fruit tart with petals on top. but when it really counted, he had no one to depend on but himself. ] I have a boon. [ albeit, temporary, and, if he's not smart, the last he'll ever receive. ] It can take me to Caer Glaem quicker than a sky bison. [ in a blink of an eye, apparently. zuko had used it to get both he and toph from the station to caer scima, but he still doesn't quite believe in it. it's the magic cassie's always talking about, the bending that doesn't make any sense to him. not even aang can teleport using the air molecules to somehow make him disappear. ]

[ that was then, this is now. while korra's not exactly changeable like her native element would suggest, she understands needing to work out frustrations when they arise. besides, imps are nasty little buggers and korra's probably burned a couple of them on her own time when she was over in the unseelie land.

and yeah, sure, it's out of her way but you know what, appa enjoys the time he gets to spend outside flying around. he sleeps in the open bailey sometimes because korra will absolutely not keep the poor thing cooped up in a barn stall if she can help it. unless it's raining. then appa gets to stay clean and dry.

she perks up at the mention of a boon (her own tucked safely inside one of her pouches), her eyebrows lifting in curiosity. ] Oh hey, that's great! [ not that she would have had a problem flying out, but this is so much easier. ] Yeah, if you want to use that to get here, that's fine too!

[ even though he doesn't know caer glaem (or even caer scima), he feels a little better at knowing he's not putting her out by coming to fetch him from a neutral location. what if she ends up in trouble for escorting an unseelie into seelie territory when she's not taking him in as a prisoner? he can't fathom to think of his presence getting korra, mako, or even bolin, into trouble, only because they were trying to be ... ]

[ he guesses they're trying to be friendly. katara would do the same thing for him, be met with the same walls, his feet refusing to lift from the ground, even if toph were to bend it out from beneath him. maybe that's why he reacts the way he does, not completely shutting himself off or refusing to take up her offer. ]

[ despite drabwurld not being home, and the monarchs being unlike ozai, he still doesn't want them to get into trouble because of him. he'd put sokka, suki, and his father in danger at the boiling rock by stupidly leaving mai a letter and forgetting her uncle happened to be the warden of the prison he was breaking into. it's dumb paranoia that drives him now; without the reason for why toph's gone being anywhere close to being unearthed, all he can do is believe it had been because of their actions two months ago. ]

It'd probably be safer. [ for her, at least. if the fairies, or any other creature, happened to spy her taking him in ... ] I can meet you somewhere. Wherever. I don't know the place so I don't really care where.

[ there's reason enough for anyone to be uneasy about the prospect of spending time on the "other side," but the only thing that korra can offer up as evidence to support the fact that zuko would be in safe hands within the walls of caer glaem is, well... the fact that the seelie haven't gone on a rampage to claim plots and plots of land for themselves.

the more she thinks on it, however, the more she starts to feel that maybe they should. especially if she wants to bring an end to this war. this world is completely out of balance and she should do her best to usher it into an age of peace.

korra presses her lips together in thought, pulling out her map. did zuko mean... outside the castle, or off the property? if she brought him in from off territory she could always claim zuko was a prisoner to keep the guards from asking too many questions, make a seemingly "false" claim of being the avatar and this being her world's problem and not something she was willing to drag the monarchs into... ]

I'll meet you outside the castle gates? [ actually, now that she thinks about it— ] How does your boon work? Is it like the fairy rings, or what?

[ that should be easy enough to locate, right? gates. they're big, they guard a kingdom, and they're pearly, sometimes. he doesn't know if caer glaem looks anything like caer scima, but he can only assume they may have a few similarities. it's probably best; the castle gates are easy enough. ]

[ but as for how his boon works, he doesn't think he'll ever really understand it. bending is all he really knows; how can anyone be a ring bender? a token bender? the little token he has holds so much power, yet, it's just a token. it's kind of like his ring, it being able to leech the energy from sozin's comet and somehow seep into his skin to see his own bending amplified. he's beginning to learn tiny little objects hold great power in this world. ]

[ his mouth hangs open, uncertain, drawing out: ] Uh. [ he doesn't really know? ] Magic? [ he sounds so convincing. ] It's a small token. I thought about coming back here and ... we were here. [ he also clicked his heels and chanted there's no place like home three times. ]

2 ☼ video / open to both courts

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