time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted.

[pyroelectric]

Who: Azula + y'all
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: HS MARSIVA BABY
When: Idk, now.

[Oh, she's furious at first. Waking alone in a strange place, with no one to answer for her predicament? Azula is not happy about that. But she refuses to lose her cool under pressure. She won't waste time throwing a temper tantrum. Instead she gets to work. When she can't find anyone, she looks for exits. When she can't find any exits, she finally resigns herself to examining the-- the "communications log", her augment helpfully supplies.

Hm. That's new. She absorbs that information and continues. Figuring out how to use the system is somewhat of a learning curve at first, but the augment helps her along until she has the gist of it. She snorts in derision as she reads and watches one log after another, published by individuals clearly once in the same predicament as herself. Every post the same as the last. "Where am I? How did I get here? How do I get home?" How ridiculous, she thinks. If only they had bothered to take a few extra minutes to figure out how to access the network records, all their questions would have been answered, and they would have been saved the indignity of looking like a fool. Well, no-one will catch her looking like that, that's for sure.

The more she reads, the less she likes. Her scowl deepens the longer she spends. After a while, few unpleasant facts make themselves readily apparent:

1) This is not home. Few here will recognise or respect her authority as crown princess of the Fire Nation.
2) Her ability to threaten or intimidate people into doing what she says while she's being held captive on a completely separate vessel to everybody else is virtually nil. First rule of thumb: don't give threats unless you can actually follow through on them. Otherwise you only look stupid.
3) She currently has no money with which to bribe people with, either.
4) Her brother is here, has been here for a while by the look of things. She doesn't understand how that's possible, but there's no point in debating the facts. He's also had time to make allies.
5) She, on the other hand, has none.

All in all, it's an extremely unfavorable position to be in. All her favourite tools have been summarily taken from her. Arms crossed, one finger tapping on her arm, she tries to think of the best way to spin this horrible situation to her advantage-- at least until she can leverage herself some bargaining chips, or isn't on the Marsiva. She reads further back on the network some more, until one particular post gives her an idea. A brother, separated from his siblings. The sympathy pouring in for miles. It's a masterful stroke, really. ... Well, that settles it. Mind made up, she uncrosses her arms and turns on the video feed, prepared with her most innocent smile.]



Good evening, citizens of this... ah, fleet. I am Princess Azula, of the Fire Nation. Your newest arrival, of course. Not to worry, I've already availed myself of the answers to the standard newcomer questions.

I'm addressing you today because I believe some of you may already be acquainted with my dear brother, Prince Zuko. I do hope he's all right-- ever since we were young, you see, he's had this knack for getting himself into trouble. If it's not too much to ask, I'd be extremely grateful to anyone who can put me in touch with him. Or at the very least, let me know how he's doing. From what I understand, apparently he's switched his message apparatus off to take a long nap. I wouldn't want to interrupt.

In any case, I look forward to ... co-habitating with all of you. [No, she absolutely does not.] I suppose if you wish to introduce yourself, you may do that too.

[If it's a competition the Atroma want, she doesn't intend to lose. But she can't do anything from her current position without backup and information. As irritating as it is to have to fake interest and politeness, this will help her get the lay of the land much more efficiently than causing a scene right off the bat. There will be time enough for that later.

Plus, it will absolutely infuriate Zuko, and that's always hilarious.]

Comments

[eyeforaneye]

I highly doubt that he is. My world and what qualifies as 'powerful' there are not the same as yours.

But what I'm talking about is simply a fact. You say you've surpassed him in every area of education, but that's false.

[pyroelectric]

[Azula only seems amused.]

Is that so? Why don't you enlighten me.

[eyeforaneye]

You haven't struggled enough. [ simply stated ]

You learn far more through failure and loss, and even aside from that he's had the experience of being separated from family and court life in order to actually better understand the outside world. That kind of knowledge is irreplaceable. [ And chasing someone with a cadre of helpers isn't exactly on par with actually living in Ba Sing Se and traveling through the Earth Kingdom alone. ]

[pyroelectric]

... Is that so.

[She won't offer an opinion on that-- she knows bait when she sees it. Instead:]

It sounds like you're quite close.

[eyeforaneye]

I've been here barely more than a week.

[ Another truth to potentially dispel an assumption before it can take root. ] I just value certain ways of learning over others.

[pyroelectric]

I see.

So in actual fact, it sounds to me like you already knew your answer to the question you asked. And you seemed to already know my answer as well. In which case... the only reason you could possibly have for asking would be to try and show me up.

Not very welcoming behaviour to someone who's just arrived, is it? Some would call it downright rude.

[eyeforaneye]

I know one side of a story. [ Which he'd already decided was the correct one, sure, but that's beside the point. ]

I asked you to hear yours. I assumed you were tough enough to handle it. [ A pause. ] And I'm a rude man. [ yw ]

[pyroelectric]

[Azula isn't really insulted in the least. She's just covering her bases so if anyone else is watching their conversation, it doesn't come off looking like she's the bad guy.]

Sounds like you've already made up your mind.

[eyeforaneye]

Assuming you have no defense against what I said. Do you think it's important to know your own people before you rule?

[pyroelectric]

Of course.

[Azula just assumes she already does.]

I just don't think that tromping around in the mud in a foreign country is a very effective way to do it.

What you say about Zuko may or may not be true. But there is one necessary quality for leadership that Zuko lacks. He's weak. I know it, the court knows it, the whole nation knows it. We love him anyway, of course. But when it comes down to it, to the really hard choices, he doesn't have what it takes to do what needs to be done.

private

[eyeforaneye]

[ He looks at her, really looks at her... and even without knowing her future, with Zuko removed from the picture, he manages to drudge up a mixture of distaste and reluctant pity. She has no idea just what it is she's squandering, and for what extremely limited reward.

Family for power? Power's a means to an end; hoarding it without greater purpose is just asking to slowly crumble under its weight. ]

You seem able to say that pretty decisively. [ Finally Sasuke encrypts the feed, having to study how to do it repeatedly. ]

Why are you so convinced?

private

[pyroelectric]

What exactly are you after here? An itemized list demonstrating Zuzu's tender heart? Of all the times I've witnessed him fail to take the final blow at the crucial moment? Of the numerous times he had the Avatar within his grasp and then failed to capture him? Or how about when he just recently deigned to not take part in defending his own country from invasion?

It's a shame, really. I had a good strategy worked out for him, too. [She's not lying about that.] I would have been happy to practically hand him the glory for repelling the invaders. It wouldn't be the first time I've done it. He needs it more than I do. [That's true, too. In a way.] ... But it doesn't seem to matter to him. He just has no interest.

private

[eyeforaneye]

Yes. That's what I'm after. [ And he doesn't seem to feel any shame about admitting it, either. ]

You claim that he'll have time to get stronger and that you support his bid to rule, but the more you speak the more it seems as if you think he's a lost cause. I'm interested in hearing the specifics of why. [ A chance for Azula to engage in one of her favorite activities: shit-talking. ] You think it isn't just his physical skills holding him back, but his morality. Is that how it is?

private

[pyroelectric]

A man who won't participate in the defense of his own country against invasion doesn't deserve the crown. Yes, that's how it is.

private

[eyeforaneye]

Are you only being more honest now because I've made the conversation private? There's no real cause for deception between us.

private

[pyroelectric]

What gave it away?

Make no mistake. Knowing that I'm better than Zuko and knowing that he doesn't want or deserve to be Fire Lord doesn't mean I actually plan to usurp him. I wasn't lying when I said that. [And she wasn't. At this stage. As far as she's aware, she and Zuko are still a happy family again.] My opinions and my personal desires don't necessarily always reflect my plans. If Zuko comes into his birthright, I won't take it form him by force.

[In all honesty, Azula has never thought it would be necessary. She has always expected that Zuko would either fuck up and be exiled again or step down when it came to it. Certainly, nothing in his behaviour has ever indicated to Azula that Zuko wishes to rule.]

Rivals we might be, but he is still my brother.

private; whup 2/2

[pyroelectric]

[And then, more flippantly, because Azula doesn't really want to deal with genuine emotions:]

Plus, another state funeral so soon after Dad's would be so depressing.

private; 1/3

[eyeforaneye]

[ He wants to challenge her assertion that she'd never take it by force, wanting to say that she's young still and that the bitterness of watching a brother she considers unworthy taking charge of a nation that he might very well lead down a gentler path -- which she must suspect, given her assessment of his moral fiber -- would just grow and grow until it consumed her.

He wants to say all of that. But he also remembers the bulleted list that Zuko sent him. ]

Running a country involves getting used to depression.

private; 2/3

[eyeforaneye]

[ ... ]

private; 3/3

[eyeforaneye]

You say he's still your brother.

Do you love him? [ What a direct question. ]

[pyroelectric]

[Congratulations Sasuke, you are privileged to something that almost no person has ever seen before: Azula laughing non-maniacally.

It's a short, awkward, aborted sort of thing. Like a bark that dies in her throat. Because honestly, the question is so ridiculous, so unusual, so completely out of left field that it catches her totally off her guard, and she honestly has no idea how to react to it. Other than laugh. Who asks that kind of thing?]

... What?

[eyeforaneye]

[ Her laugh in no way seems to affect him, not flinching or hesitating in his steady stare. It's borderline unnerving how placid his expression is but somewhere in those eyes there's a deeper form of intensity, a true desire to hear the answer to this question. ]

You seem intelligent. You know that prioritization of your ambition doesn't exclude other emotions.

Do you love your brother?

[pyroelectric]

[Somehow, Azula manages to regain her composure. The awkward and genuine face disappears, replaced by the usual trademark disingenuous smile.]

Hmmm. That's a rather... personal question for a first conversation, isn't it?

Not to mention, you seem very intent on knowing the answer. Let me guess. Unresolved sibling issues? ... Older brother, I think.

[eyeforaneye]

[ Any flicker in his composure is momentary but not completely absent, consciously attempting to disguise it as a glance to the door before he looks back down to the screen. 'Unresolved'? That's one word for it, and though he's heard far, far worse things slung at him regarding his family and he's developed a thicker skin, just the reminder after separation from his own world is a painful one. ]

Does that have anything to do with your answer? You're quick to ask me something personal after claiming I'm the one pushing the limit.

[pyroelectric]

Of course it doesn't. I only wanted to see if you can take what you dish out.

In any case, if you think I'm going to bare my soul to a random stranger I just met, you're even crazier than you look.