ᴏᴏ3 : ᴛᴇxᴛ | ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

[honorbends]

Who: Zuko [honorbends] and YOU.
Broadcast: Fleetwide.
Action: On Ye Olde Ice Planet.
When: Now!

Why.

[ that is literally the only thing zuko texts, because he has stepped out onto the ice planet Hoth and is promptly regretting ever doing so. firebenders rise with the sun, and zuko is a morning person, and nothing is more claustrophobic than being on a ship with no natural light, or heat, or energy -- and being outside alone is rejuvenating for him, but --

there is so much snow.

so feel free to spot him wandering around looking furious in a scarf, stubbornly melting a small patch of snow, or perusing the markets for things to buy with money that he probably asked someone else for.

or you can hit him with snow and take advantage of the fact that he is, in fact, a firebender on what is apparently a recreation of the northern water tribe. with more salt.

this is the worst. ]

Comments

[honorbends]

I hope so.

[ he's happy for sokka and katara, who are probably ecstatic, but...

ugh. ]

[dancingmd]

Though maybe not too green. Your uncle and I were almost eaten by some plants you know.

[Why do you say these things so casually?]

[honorbends]

[ -- wait.

wait, wait, wait.

wait. ]

You knew my uncle?

[ he almost sounds too excited, but also somewhat dubious. -- and -- ]

-- he almost got eaten by a plant?

[ iroh is one of the most powerful firebenders in the world, jesus christ uncle. ]

[dancingmd]

[Yeah fire just succeeding in pissing the plant off more. Whoops.]

Oh - I'm sorry, I thought... I thought someone would have told you by now, that Iroh was here before. [Damn. This is probably something he should be hearing from one of his friends.] I didn't get much of a chance to know him well, since he was only here for a couple of months, but we were [engaged in harmless flirting] on friendly terms. Right before he left, we landed on a planet of sentient plants, who didn't take too kindly to us trespassing.

[honorbends]

[ ugh. zuko and iroh seem to keep missing each other in these alternate realities, and he does look faintly disappointed. still, zuko huffs to himself and crosses his arms, shaking his head slightly. ]

Sounds like him.

[ accidentally trespassing, anyway. ]

But he shouldn't have had a problem, defeating some plants.

[dancingmd]

They weren't exactly ordinary plants... they had some sort of intelligence behind them, and attacking them with either fire or phasers only made them angrier. Mostly it was a case of how fast you could outrun them.

[And Iroh, bless him, running is not his strong suit.]

Don't worry though, we got each other out without too much damage.

[honorbends]

[ judging from zuko's slight wince, he is thinking the same as beverly. and he shrugs slightly. ]

I wasn't worried.

[ :c :c ]

Uncle is... my uncle is the most powerful firebender in the Fire Nation.

[ zuko says that honestly, with great quiet pride. ]

He can get himself out of anything.

[dancingmd]

[Don't lie, you were a little worried. But it's touching to see the caring and the pride he has in his uncle. Clearly, Iroh is very important to him.

The most powerful firebender part is a tad surprising to her though, if only because Iroh never seemed to have let that go to his head. He may have been a shameless flirt, but never a braggart and he always treated people with respect.]

Oh, I have no doubt about that. He's a good man... I'm sorry he isn't here with you.

[honorbends]

He's the best man that I know.

[ without hesitation, and with much conviction. ]

But he's better off at home, right now. I'm sure he'd say the same if I weren't here, and he was.

[ but that doesn't change the fact that zuko misses iroh terribly. he hasn't seen him in a long time. ]

[dancingmd]

I feel the same way about Wesley. Doesn’t mean I don’t still miss him, every single day that I’m here.

[honorbends]

[ he lets out a soft sigh that puffs out his cheeks a little. uncomfortable discussing this, but also not entirely bothered. ]

... right.

[ it's all he says, because it's true. and he wishes iroh were here, but he's also not selfish enough to say so out loud. ]

[dancingmd]

[Beverly studies him seriously for a moment, then tilts her head back towards town.]

There's a cafe not too far from her, serves good hot drinks. [A little smile.] Including tea. My treat?

[honorbends]

[ there's a slight hesitation as he looks over at her, and he seems to be debating inside his head. tea sounds nice, and being out of the cold sounds nice. and beverly is hardly a stranger, as she's on the blue fish. but he also doesn't want to get trapped into conversation.

but... ]

Alright.

[ finally, and he turns to face her fully. ]

But you don't have to pay for it.

[ iroh taught him manners, even if they took a few years to really sink in. ]

[dancingmd]

[The social interactions regarding money are still not something that comes naturally to Beverly but after ten months in the fleet, she’s learned enough not to push on things like this, so she nods.]

The offer stands, should you change your mind.

[And as they head off towards the cafe, she remains companionably silent…normally she might try to initiate more of a conversation, but her current mood is such that the silence is welcome.]

[honorbends]

[ they walk in relative silence -- it's cold, but bearable, given zuko can manage his own temperature -- but after a moment or two, the silence gets to be annoying, and so he talks again. ]

How long ago was he here?

[dancingmd]

[She doesn't answer immediately, as she has to think for a bit. Let's see... there was the plant, but he wasn't here for the Iskaulit so...]

Late May. So about seven months ago.

[honorbends]

And he hasn't been back since?

[ ugh ]

[dancingmd]

[She shakes her head. Then, very gently:]

When was the last time you saw him?

[honorbends]

Nearly two years.

[ zuko has no idea how much beverly knows about iroh, and his relationship with zuko, but if iroh was truly her friend, then surely he mentioned zuko. probably.

not seeing iroh for two years has been terrible. ]

[dancingmd]

I'm sorry. I know you two are close. If he could, I'm sure he'd want to be here with you.

[There are two important things she learned about Iroh: how much he loves these kids and how much he loves tea. She crosses her arms against the cold and walks a few more paces before adding:]

I really do believe we're going to see them again. I mean, in our own worlds.

[honorbends]

I know he would. And I know I'll see him again.

{ he's quiet for a moment, as he really digests that. iroh would absolutely be here in a heartbeat, if he knew zuko was here. it comforts him, to a certain degree -- aside from his mother, iroh is really the only good guiding force in his life. ]

... how much do you know about me?

[ it's important to know. ]

And be honest.

[dancingmd]

Not a lot but... [She looks over at him, wondering if anyone has said anything about this yet. Considering he didn't know about Iroh, though, she's going to guess they haven't.] You were here before too. Only about a month, but we did meet.

[Her mouth quirks with amusement.]

You were very stubborn. But that's all right: so am I.

[honorbends]

[ zuko knew he had been here before, which doesn't bother him -- and his lips twitch into what's sort of a faint smile at being called stubborn, because that's also true. but -- ]

... my uncle practically raised me.

[ ozai was there, sure, but he was... terrible. and ursa is still missing. ]

So -- that's why we're close. And why I know I'll see him again.

[dancingmd]

[She doesn't ask what happened with his parents... she got that question often enough growing up to know to wait. If he wants to talk to her about it, he will.]

For what it's worth, I think he'd be very proud of you. Of all of you. I know I am.

[honorbends]

[ well, his father removed half of his face and his mom is (probably????) dead, so. yuppers. ]

I know he is.

{ -- but hearing that she's proud of him causes him pause, and he frowns at her for a moment before continuing. ]

... we did what we needed to do.