[ it's not the blood, or the sudden strike, but the sound of his name that causes zuko to give pause -- and the lack of balance, along with the distraction, causes zuko to trip and land quite flatly on his back.
which knocks the wind out of him.
which, if his firebending wasn't working before, it's definitely not going to work now.
one sword is scattered, but the other is still in his hand -- and zuko considers spinning, jumping up and forcing allen back, but something is off. and so zuko relaxes his grip on his sword, instead pushing himself up to sit with a cough.
he's furious, and scattered, but he's not stupid enough to press something when it clearly is not in his favor. ]
(1) i give up zuko is the the worst hello from the other side
which knocks the wind out of him.
which, if his firebending wasn't working before, it's definitely not going to work now.
one sword is scattered, but the other is still in his hand -- and zuko considers spinning, jumping up and forcing allen back, but something is off. and so zuko relaxes his grip on his sword, instead pushing himself up to sit with a cough.
he's furious, and scattered, but he's not stupid enough to press something when it clearly is not in his favor. ]