fourth flame [these miles have torn us worlds apart]

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

[Zuko is back! Not that he ever really went anywhere. He's been training pretty hard on and off the Plane recently, but royal life has picked up a bit too. Plans for an epic garrison battle are being set in motion, at least in the purchase of supplies and heightened activity around the palace. It's made him antsy, and Azula isn't helping. Recently, he found himself unable to resist an old pastime, especially since he needs a break.

This pastime involves something so simple, it might go unnoticed. He made sure to place himself somewhere adjacent to Ammy's forest so that it doesn't seem so out of place... and it's good cover, too. Zuko crouches at the edge of a small, man-made pond lined with round stones and filled with lilypads, as well as turtleducks. They're small and cute and ducky, except their middles are ... turtleshells. A shady tree suited for sub-tropic regions stretches out over it, shading the pond halfway. Zuko himself is wearing some variation of his royal robes, but it completely clashes with his shaggy (yet newly trimmed!) hair.

He tosses bits of bread into the water every once in a while, causing a frenzy of quacks as the baby turtleducks scramble for food. However, his mind is elsewhere right now.]

Comments

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[Guess who was walking in the woods with Haruki?] ...they're so cute.

[sifud.livejournal.com]

[....what is this madness.]

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

[fdhsfdhjk FREEZES. NO ONE IS SUPPOSED TO SEE HIM DOING THIS GODDAMMIT.] ... uh.

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

[Makes sure Haruki isn't going to try going after them before she crouches down next to the water, the puppy whining at her side.] What are they? I've never seen anything like them before. They're a little bit like platypus I guess, but not like anything else from my world.

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

[Something irritates Zuko. Time seems to slow as he reaches down to grab something at his side -

- but it's just bread, which he breaks apart and tosses into the water. Ha, ha. He doesn't notice Katara for the time being.]

[aimania.livejournal.com]

[someone is thrilled by these ducks and leans over the pond to look at the turtleducks] I haven't seen these before! They're so cute!

[sifud.livejournal.com]

[And here she was ready to kick his ass. She steps into the open.] What are you doing?

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

[It's ... a wolf crossed with cute. Zuko's eyes move from Haruki to Misaki, though. He should be used to weird animals on the Plane by now. Yes, there is irony in that statement.]

... They're turtleducks. [SO. AWKWARD. He shifts a little to reclaim what's left of his dignity personal space.] You said... platypus? Like platypus-bears?

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

Platypus-bears? Really? Wow. [Oh right.] I'm Misaki Kirihara.

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

[fdhsjfhdjk HELLO THERE. He pulls away a little.] I... guess.

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

[BRB FALLING IN]

[salvagestime.livejournal.com]

[Oh and what the hell. The Doctor loves weird animals, so] Ducks! ...Turtles! ...Both. Oh, I like that. Never seen that combination before. Though I have seen some odd turtles. [hovering around to play with the ducks]

[aimania.livejournal.com]

[smiles brightly at him] Hello again, Zuko-san. Are they your's?

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

[Wow, social skills.] My name is Zuko. It's ... uh... nice to meet you. [Let's go with the first name thing, since he has no power here anyway. Maybe she'll treat him normally.]

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

Nice to meet you too, Zuko-san. [Sits down and stretches a little] Are you new? I just got here about a week and a half ago.

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

[Shock fading. Must look impassive.]

They belong to the royal family.

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

[Hello person who is like the person who saved him from being shot but is way more happy or something what. He blinks a few times.]

... Er... hi.

[sifud.livejournal.com]

[Snerk] Those reflexes are really something, your highness.

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

... Yeah? I've been here for about three. Weeks, I mean.

[chasingstars201.livejournal.com]

It's weird isn't it? Mostly people seem nice, though.

[aimania.livejournal.com]

Oh! I see. [she crouches at the edge of the pond as well, balanced on her heels with her tail swaying slowly] But that makes them yours, right?

[salvagestime.livejournal.com]

[glances up] Oh, interrupting your duck and turtle time? Sorry. Very interesting, though. Are they bred this way or just came about through normal means?

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

[Zuko hauls himself back out, dripping with water and pond muck, and crowned with a lily pad. The ducks are annoyed, to say the least. One waddles past Zuko with a defiant flip of its tail. To complete the look, a frog crawls out from under the lily and uses Zuko's nose as a springboard to get back into the pond.]

What do you want? [He tries to keep his tone as even as possible. He can't turn his back to her, but he can't just abandon his post because the Avatar gang shows up either. So he settles with looking away and trying to pick gunk out of his hair instead.]

[firedprince.livejournal.com]

I guess. I'm the only one who notices them. [She is so very, very strange. Is that a /tail?/]

[sifud.livejournal.com]

To make sure you aren't trying to kill any one else I know.