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]

She used to be tolerable.

[ but only marginally so. they were close-ish, when they were little. but then azula started developing her powers, and that was the end of that. still, zuko is pretty sure azula wouldn't know what to do if zuko hadn't been around.

who else would ozai have hated. ]

Now she's probably better off as shark food -- are we going anywhere in particular?

[ talking about azula too much gives him a headache. ]

[alwayscomeback]

[Sokka falls silent. The last time he saw Azula wasn't exactly a great time, what with being shoved through a roof and all. But that's not the last time Zuko saw her, as far as he knows, she's safely locked away. ]

Yeah.

[Oh good, a change of subject. That's what he needs. ]

There's some good fishing a little further out, thought we could catch some for the Blue Fish.

[honorbends]

I can't promise I'd be any good at it.

[ zuko is very good at a specific set of skills, almost none of them practical. or, at least, that's what he tells himself. ]

But sure, if you need help.

[ zuko is 99% sure sokka is going to be the one helping him. ]

[alwayscomeback]

[He's pretty certain Zuko will suck at it. But it's a life skill that might save his life one day. Besides, it's a nice activity to do with a friend. Bonding. ]

Help would be great, actually.

[He'll play this game, Zuko. He will. ]

[honorbends]

[ you're such a good friend sokka bc guess who needs to feel helpful at all times ]

It's not like I can say no, anyway.

[ sokka is the one controlling the boat, after all ]

[alwayscomeback]

[Sorry, bro, you're trapped here forever or until Sokka gets bored. Whichever wins out first. ]

You got that right, buddy.

[BIG SMILE.]

Think of it like an adventure. A learning adventure. Those are the best kind!

[honorbends]

[ buddy c:

zuko looks as irritable as ever but he has warm fuzzies trust and believe ]

I've had enough learning adventures with you to last me a lifetime.

[ every learning adventure he has with you people ends in an assassination attempt or a jail breakout jfc ]

[alwayscomeback]

[Excuse you his life-changing-field trips are the BEST. ]

Well, too bad for you that you're gonna get another one. It might actually save your life someday.

[He stops the kayak, peering over into the water. ]

Okay, this should be about right.

[honorbends]

How is it going to save my life?

[ zuko: actual city kid. but he pushes himself up to peer over into the water too, brow furrowing.

it looks like literally the same spot of water as... any other spot of water, but he'll trust sokka's instincts. ]

Did you bring fishing supplies?

[alwayscomeback]

One day, you might be on a water planet by yourself and need to fish to eat.

[THE LOGIC IS THERE, ZUKO. ]

No, I totally left all the fishing supplies behind on a fishing trip.

[He roots around in the bottom of the kayak and brings up a net and two fishing poles. They're not fancy in the least, just a pole with string and hoot attached. You gonna learn how to do it Water Tribe style. Lucky you.]

[honorbends]

[ zuko is about to point out that he's not going to be on a water planet by himself when he's suddenly presented with a fishing pole. ]

... you didn't tell me we were fishing.

[ pointedly. he thought this was just a kayaking trip. jackass. ]

And what are we using for bait?

[ HE ISN'T ENTIRELY CLUELESS ]

[alwayscomeback]

If I'd have told you we were fishing, would you have got in the kayak?

[DECEPTION! ]

I got a few scraps of meat, stuff we can't eat. Thought that might work.

[honorbends]

... probably not.

[ sokka has him there, and zuko admits it grudgingly. he watches sokka bait his own hook, mimicking it pretty easily, before just

plopping it into the water.

this is literally all it takes right. ]

-- I've done this with spears.

[ he's not totally incompetent okay he kept himself and iroh alive in the woods for like. awhile. ]

[alwayscomeback]

[...Yeah you know what, baby steps. At least he put the rod into the water. Sokka smiles, flicking his own in with practised ease. ]

That's a pretty great way of doing it, too. This way gives you more time to relax, though.

[honorbends]

[ this is already boring, but zuko can appreciate quiet. patience is a virtue, dear nephew, and all that. if he looks at this as an exercise of control and restraint, then he can probably get through this without screwing it up. ]

... I wasn't really relaxed the last time I went fishing.

[ he was sort of running for his life and trying to sneak into ba sing se whoops ]

[alwayscomeback]

Then you weren't doing it right.

[Running for your life is not relaxing, Zuko. Sokka sits back a bit, letting out a content sigh. ]

See? Relaxing.

[honorbends]

[ there is a silence as he glances at sokka, uncertain on whether or not this is actually supposed to be relaxing. and then he looks down into the water, where he sees no fish, and no bottom of the sea.

s i l e n c e ]

There could be a shark in there.

[ he's just saying ]

[alwayscomeback]

[Sokka doesn't even bother looking in the water. ]

Nah. Cold water sharks never attack humans. It takes way too much energy to try and topple a kayak, and you gotta conserve all the energy you got out here.

Hence the sitting and relaxing and not getting panicky.

1/2

[honorbends]

[ well, he supposes sokka would know better than he would, and zuko settles back into the boat a little more.

waiting.

are they supposed to be quiet.

is something supposed to happen.

is he doing this right.

well, probably. zuko just has to sit here and be quiet, right. noise probably scares fish away. that's just common sense. probably. so watching the water ripple by and the tiny little ice floes and all of that, being quiet... ]

[honorbends]

Is something supposed to happen soon?

[ firebenders: Not The World's Most Patient Creatures ]

[alwayscomeback]

[Zuko, it's been like, three minutes, come on.]

The fish'll bite when they bite. I thought you did that meditating thingie, isn't that the same?

[Literal years spent with you guys and he still doesn't understand how meditation works. ]

[honorbends]

No.

[ zuko pauses before sighing, resigning himself to awkwardly explaining meditation. ]

Meditation ... you remove yourself from your body, and find your inner peace, and sort out your own conflict. You remain that way -- and in deep meditation, the kind that Aang does? A bomb could go off and you wouldn't notice, because you're so in touch with yourself.

[ zuko has not managed that far ]

[alwayscomeback]

[There's a long-ass pause as Sokka kinda...spaces out for a second there.]

...Wow, no. That's actually not the same at all.

[honorbends]

It's not as simple as relaxing.

[ so. there. yeah. he wins. ]

[alwayscomeback]

[Good for Zuko, he wins the medal of being right about something. Slow clap. ]

Well, this should be easy for you then. Nice, simple relaxing.