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31_days2006-11-25 06:27 pm
sophiap.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2006-11-25 06:27 pm
[Nov. 25] [Avatar] A cautionary tale
Title: A cautionary tale
Day/Theme: November 25 - electric blue
Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Character/Pairing: Azula
Rating: PG
Lightning had always come easily to Princess Azula. She couldn't even remember how she had learned it, only that she had figured it out on her own even as her teachers had droned on and on about the difficulty of the technique, the stillness of heart that was required, the calmness of spirit, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
One might have said that their words went in one ear and out the other, but Azula didn't even pay them that much mind. Words about spiritual and mental discipline became little more than background noise as her full attention turned to the the pretty blue sparks dancing along her fingertips.
She did, however, pay attention to the whisperings that she was not meant to hear. Whispers saying that of course the Fire Lord's daughter was a prodigy at bending lightning; a spirit that was cold was certainly calm, and a heart that was absent was certainly still.
Other people might have been hurt by these words, but Azula simply laughed and watched the fear on her teacher's face as her beautiful blue lightning wrapped and warped around a tree, heating the sap until the ancient oak exploded. When the ash and smoke finally settled, she noted with cool satisfaction that her teacher was huddled on the ground with a sliver of wood the length of a man's hand sticking out of his thigh.
"You didn't think to tell the servants that he was there until an hour after you left? Oh, Azula, how could you have forgotten him like that? How could you be so heartless?"
Her mother's words made no more impression than her teacher's. Her teacher should have thought about where he was standing; it was his own fault. And as for her mother's dismay over Azula's heartlessness?
Why, if the absence of a heart made her stronger, that was just fine with her. She had no interest in being as ineffective as her mother or as useless as her brother. Hearts did nothing but get in the way, from what she could tell.
If there were times when her heart pricked at her conscience, trying to remind her of its presence, she soon learned to ignore it. In time, its cries became as meaningless as her teachers' ramblings or her mother's chiding.
Years passed, mothers left, and irrelevant older siblings were sent packing in disgrace. It made no difference to Azula. She had her lightning, and that was all she needed. These days, she was just as often surrounded by electric blue as she was by fiery red when she fought.
She was cold. She was powerful. She was feared. Nothing could stop her, not even foolish old uncles or pathetic older brothers, and certainly not her heart. On the day when her lightning crackled across her uncle's chest, her heart gave one last anguished cry, as if it had been the one to receive the blast, and then it fell silent. Azula was pleased to find that it did not seemed inclined to speak again.
And so, there was nothing to stand in her way and nothing to hold her back when she faced off against her brother one last time. He had no chance. He was no match for her--how could he be, when his fear for his friends, his anguish over fighting her, his dread of failing, were all so clear on his face? Foolish Zuko, always wearing his heart on his sleeve...
Enough. It was time to end this. She sent a bolt of lightning arcing towards him.
And then, something truly strange happened, something she had never even heard of before: the lightning passed through him, and he threw it to the side, away from his friends.
He was absolutely unharmed. How was it possible? Her brows drew together as she tried to puzzle it out.
It didn't matter she decided, sending another bolt straight at him. Anything he could do, she could surpass. She would defeat him and bring him back to her father. It made no difference to her if it was as a prisoner or a corpse. If she'd ever had any regard for the idiot, her heart was blessedly silent on the matter.
Zuko caught the lightning as he had once before. This time, as she had expected, he threw it back at her. Laughing, she reached her hand out to the lightning. Who would catch it next? Which of his friends would Zuko get to see felled by the lightning he had so graciously given back to her?
As the lightning flowed down her arm and into her chest, she had only a moment to wonder at the look of shame and regret on Zuko's face before the jolt to her chest knocked all the breath out of her.
You should never have forgotten about me, her heart chided before it went silent, this time forever.
Day/Theme: November 25 - electric blue
Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Character/Pairing: Azula
Rating: PG
Lightning had always come easily to Princess Azula. She couldn't even remember how she had learned it, only that she had figured it out on her own even as her teachers had droned on and on about the difficulty of the technique, the stillness of heart that was required, the calmness of spirit, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
One might have said that their words went in one ear and out the other, but Azula didn't even pay them that much mind. Words about spiritual and mental discipline became little more than background noise as her full attention turned to the the pretty blue sparks dancing along her fingertips.
She did, however, pay attention to the whisperings that she was not meant to hear. Whispers saying that of course the Fire Lord's daughter was a prodigy at bending lightning; a spirit that was cold was certainly calm, and a heart that was absent was certainly still.
Other people might have been hurt by these words, but Azula simply laughed and watched the fear on her teacher's face as her beautiful blue lightning wrapped and warped around a tree, heating the sap until the ancient oak exploded. When the ash and smoke finally settled, she noted with cool satisfaction that her teacher was huddled on the ground with a sliver of wood the length of a man's hand sticking out of his thigh.
"You didn't think to tell the servants that he was there until an hour after you left? Oh, Azula, how could you have forgotten him like that? How could you be so heartless?"
Her mother's words made no more impression than her teacher's. Her teacher should have thought about where he was standing; it was his own fault. And as for her mother's dismay over Azula's heartlessness?
Why, if the absence of a heart made her stronger, that was just fine with her. She had no interest in being as ineffective as her mother or as useless as her brother. Hearts did nothing but get in the way, from what she could tell.
If there were times when her heart pricked at her conscience, trying to remind her of its presence, she soon learned to ignore it. In time, its cries became as meaningless as her teachers' ramblings or her mother's chiding.
Years passed, mothers left, and irrelevant older siblings were sent packing in disgrace. It made no difference to Azula. She had her lightning, and that was all she needed. These days, she was just as often surrounded by electric blue as she was by fiery red when she fought.
She was cold. She was powerful. She was feared. Nothing could stop her, not even foolish old uncles or pathetic older brothers, and certainly not her heart. On the day when her lightning crackled across her uncle's chest, her heart gave one last anguished cry, as if it had been the one to receive the blast, and then it fell silent. Azula was pleased to find that it did not seemed inclined to speak again.
And so, there was nothing to stand in her way and nothing to hold her back when she faced off against her brother one last time. He had no chance. He was no match for her--how could he be, when his fear for his friends, his anguish over fighting her, his dread of failing, were all so clear on his face? Foolish Zuko, always wearing his heart on his sleeve...
Enough. It was time to end this. She sent a bolt of lightning arcing towards him.
And then, something truly strange happened, something she had never even heard of before: the lightning passed through him, and he threw it to the side, away from his friends.
He was absolutely unharmed. How was it possible? Her brows drew together as she tried to puzzle it out.
It didn't matter she decided, sending another bolt straight at him. Anything he could do, she could surpass. She would defeat him and bring him back to her father. It made no difference to her if it was as a prisoner or a corpse. If she'd ever had any regard for the idiot, her heart was blessedly silent on the matter.
Zuko caught the lightning as he had once before. This time, as she had expected, he threw it back at her. Laughing, she reached her hand out to the lightning. Who would catch it next? Which of his friends would Zuko get to see felled by the lightning he had so graciously given back to her?
As the lightning flowed down her arm and into her chest, she had only a moment to wonder at the look of shame and regret on Zuko's face before the jolt to her chest knocked all the breath out of her.
You should never have forgotten about me, her heart chided before it went silent, this time forever.