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[September 4] [Avatar] bring to the table
Title:
Day/Theme: September 4 / the great bewildering city that you live in
Series: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Character/Pairing: Zuko, Katara
Rating: G
It was incredibly obvious to even the most casual observer that Katara was not terribly suited to diplomacy. She flushed easily, stuttered when giving her responses, and on one memorable occasion, almost collared a particularly annoying minister from the Earth Kingdom.
On this particular occasion, she was sputtering at an insulting (and very very obviously leading, Zuko thought with more than a touch of exasperation) remark made by a Governor Wu of Bailing. "How dare you," she hissed. "Are you saying that the people of the Water Tribe don't matter to you? Just because--"
"Please calm down, Miss Katara," Governor Wu said with a smug smile. "This is a civilized discussion, and we should try to maintain a modicum of politeness, should we not?"
Katara stood up. "You--"
"Governor Wu," Zuko cut in. "I was under the impression that the Southern Water Tribe had a strong presence in the fishing industry. Given Bailing's reliance on its ports, perhaps you should take a closer look at Miss Katara's offer."
"Ah--" Governor Wu flushed, presumably at being called on a fact he'd been perfectly aware of and simply ignored. "You're correct, Fire Lord Zuko. I should be interested in working out the details with you later, Miss Katara?"
"Ah--of course. Thank you, Governor Wu." Katara was looking at Zuko directly for the first time since she'd arrived at the summit, something like confusion--and maybe a little gratefulness, too--crossing her face, and for a moment, Zuko was content.
Then it struck him just exactly what he'd just done. He'd sided--indirectly, yes, but still--with the Southern Water Tribe against one of his own governors. And not only that, but his personal connections with Katara during the war were well-known. His dissidents were going to have a field day with this.
He'd make up for this, he decided, by making a snide comment about Katara's performance at the negotiating table when she inevitably came to interrogate him about his little outburst.
Day/Theme: September 4 / the great bewildering city that you live in
Series: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Character/Pairing: Zuko, Katara
Rating: G
It was incredibly obvious to even the most casual observer that Katara was not terribly suited to diplomacy. She flushed easily, stuttered when giving her responses, and on one memorable occasion, almost collared a particularly annoying minister from the Earth Kingdom.
On this particular occasion, she was sputtering at an insulting (and very very obviously leading, Zuko thought with more than a touch of exasperation) remark made by a Governor Wu of Bailing. "How dare you," she hissed. "Are you saying that the people of the Water Tribe don't matter to you? Just because--"
"Please calm down, Miss Katara," Governor Wu said with a smug smile. "This is a civilized discussion, and we should try to maintain a modicum of politeness, should we not?"
Katara stood up. "You--"
"Governor Wu," Zuko cut in. "I was under the impression that the Southern Water Tribe had a strong presence in the fishing industry. Given Bailing's reliance on its ports, perhaps you should take a closer look at Miss Katara's offer."
"Ah--" Governor Wu flushed, presumably at being called on a fact he'd been perfectly aware of and simply ignored. "You're correct, Fire Lord Zuko. I should be interested in working out the details with you later, Miss Katara?"
"Ah--of course. Thank you, Governor Wu." Katara was looking at Zuko directly for the first time since she'd arrived at the summit, something like confusion--and maybe a little gratefulness, too--crossing her face, and for a moment, Zuko was content.
Then it struck him just exactly what he'd just done. He'd sided--indirectly, yes, but still--with the Southern Water Tribe against one of his own governors. And not only that, but his personal connections with Katara during the war were well-known. His dissidents were going to have a field day with this.
He'd make up for this, he decided, by making a snide comment about Katara's performance at the negotiating table when she inevitably came to interrogate him about his little outburst.