大姐蛇

(ATLA OC: Manami, Selective, under construction)

[dajieshe]

50 Questions For Your Antagonist

Taken from here.  Antagonists are tricky. Too little work, and the antagonist comes across flat. A flat antagonist is easy and boring, because he or she won’t push the protagonist hard enough. Plus there’s that practice of making fleshed out characters and having interesting three-dimensional people, blah blah.

We all know the saying: Every villain is his own hero. Though I wrote these questions and prompts with famous antagonists in mind, you could actually pose them to your protagonist or other characters (just switch out the protagonist-themed questions for antagonist-themed) and it will still work.

I’ve always found it most helpful to answer questionnaires in my character’s voice, so I have written this addressing your antagonist directly. Try to answer in the way he or she would. You’ll uncover hidden backstory, depth, and softness in your antagonist.

But remember – even something “soft” (like empathy) can be a terrible motivator.

Your Antagonist’s Backstory

Hurting people hurt others. What hurt you? My mother is absentee, my father clearly dislikes me. Is that what you would like to hear? It doesn’t bother me, and no I’m not just putting on a front. I don’t care about them. The answer you aren’t wanting to hear is “no one”. Spirits perhaps? I have had horrific night terrors all of my life. But really no one has hurt me, sorry to disappoint.

When was the first time you were frightened by something you did? When I was eleven I gutted a servant’s pet squirrel mouse and put the parts on her bed. What frightened me was how much I enjoyed her reaction to it, there was more to

When was the first time you experienced pain? Pain? Physical pain? I’m sure I fell as a child when I was first learning to walk.

What is the most painful thing you have ever gone through? Losing my sister to the barbarian, if one can call that pain. I think that’s what pain is.

Do you have a mentor, or someone you’ve modeled yourself after? Who is it, and why are they so compelling? My great great grandfather, he was one of the most feared pirates on the Bloody Coast.

Have you killed anyone? Who was the first person you killed? (Alternatively: Who is the person you’ve hurt most?) Yes. The first person I killed was near death’s door already, my grandfather. I smothered him with a pillow. I hated looking at him in that state, I hated listening to my relatives crying and praying.

When did you feel the most humiliated by someone else? Quite recently at my cousin’s wedding when that barbarian woman kissed my sister.

Tell me about a time you faced rejection. I can’t recall at which point my father started to outright reject me. There was a boy I liked who refused me when I was eleven. Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t kill him.

Is there something you’ve said or done you wish you could take back? Yes, I wish I had never allowed father to take Aika on that mission towards the waste.

Who (or what) do you miss? Aika, obviously.

What’s one thing you can never forgive? (Could be an event in the past, or a character trait like lying.) Lying. I can’t stand it.

When did you feel the most accomplished or successful? When I outmaneuvered father and married the former fire lord in lieu of Aika. 

When have you felt helpless? After marrying the former fire lord, I am relieved that he is dead.

What was the first lie you told? What do you lie about most often? I can’t remember. I lie when I tell Aika that what we do is for medical progress.

Your Antagonist’s Habits

What do you do to relax? Walk along the coast.

Where do you go when you want to feel like you belong? If you can’t get there, where would you like to go? I walk out across the reef alone, if I can’t be there then the coast will do.

What do you like to read? What shows do you watch? I don’t really read beyond what I must. As for shows... do you mean performances? I have watched ship races, does that count?

What do you daydream about? Being in a position of enough power where I can be my most authentic self without fear of a prison cell.

What is your weapon of choice? How did you learn to use it? Fire, lightening; my grandfather taught me before his health started to slip.

When you feel uncomfortable, what do you do to cover it up? Wear a smirk or mocking smile.

What sort of clothes do you wear? Would you make changes to your wardrobe if you could? Lots of greys while at Iron Wharf. It is a bit dull, I actually fancy muted pinks. 

Do you have any unusual or advanced skills? Advanced: Lightning bending is an advanced skill. Unusual: I can dislocate my arms.

How do you like to approach a problem? I pick at it a bit before moving forward.

Your Antagonist’s Personal Life

Who are your parents? Do you have any siblings? Are they still alive? The Lord and Lady of the Cove. I have one sister, Aika, and a slow brother that was sent off to some special academy. They are all alive, though I haven’t seen my brother since he was a toddler so who knows.

Who (or what) is one person (or thing/ideal) you would never harm? I would never grievously injure Aika, not intentionally anyways.

Who (or what) do you love? Would you call it love? Anik and Aika, I would call it my version of love perhaps. 

What is one secret you’ve never told anyone? Would you consider revealing it to another character? If so, who?  No, I would not share it with anyone. You included.

What lie do you tell yourself? That I could handle prison.

What is one silly thing you’re afraid of? Death by icicle.

Tell me about your dream vacation. I would like to spend a week in the North Pole to better understand the mixed ancestry of the Cove.

What is one fault in others you just can’t stand? Being overly weepy, it is obnoxious.

What type of people do you like to be around (if any)? People who do not deny what vices they may have and are their most authentic natural selves.

What about you do you feel other people misunderstand? That I don’t literally think about hurting others all day, it’s an interest but not my only one. I also enjoy collecting shells and playing the flute.

Do you like kids? What about animals? I don’t care either way. Tagged by: Tagging: @firelxrdsdaughter

[pullofthebowstring]

The Wedding | Closed Rp

[pullofthebowstring]

dajieshe:

pullofthebowstring:

“That is enough,” Jaliqai interrupted tersely. She hadn’t been aware that this much information had made it into Hanae’s letters to the other woman, but Jaliqai supposed that if her loyalty to Manami were to be believable, then she would have to have added in a few of the more juicy tidbits that had come up in their travels.

“You do not know anything of these things,” she said dismissively. If nothing else, Jaliqai was rather certain that Aika would rather be alone than with most of her tribeswomen. And even if that were not the case, Jaliqai would never let her feel lonely.

She thought it to be rather impossible to be lonely when amongst her own people.

Ah, she struck a sore spot. At least it would seem so. Something she was insecure in. Had Aika shown a reluctance as a result of that particular development. Manami took a step closer to the pair, watching Jaliqai closely. “You know nothing of what I do and do not know.”

Hanae had told her quite in bit during their exchanges- with the exception of this. She had said nothing of Aika planning to attend Ty Lat’s wedding. Where was Hanae? Had they discovered her, was she disposed of in some field of fire lilies?

Her sister was capable of that. Possibly…. At times Aika held strong affections for things far more useless than Hanae, so it was not certain.

“As amusing as this all has been, you are wasting my time. You’ve outworn you worth as a diversion for my sister so that she doesn’t peel apart half our ostrich horses out of boredom.” She took another slow step towards her sister’s ‘fiance’. “Perhaps after the dust settles we’ll discover if cragpeople look the same beneath the skin.”

Manami thought herself intimidating, but Jaliqai had known women far more menacing than her. An amused smile quirked at the corners of her mouth, defiant.

“I can assure you that we do.” It would not take much to crush Manami’s skull against a gaudy pillar, she was rather certain of that. Benders had weaknesses the same as non benders, and the element of surprise was always a good one.

Perhaps she should not kill Azula here in front of all of these people, but Jaliqai was as yet unconvinced of whether it wouldn’t be worth it to kill Manami right where she stood and suffer the consequences or not.

At least Aika would be free. 

“I am not interested in whether I am worth your time. Your time is not really worth my notice,” Jaliqai continued, looking down her nose at the eldest of the Cove sisters. “I have better things to worry about than a child’s jealousy over her sister’s attention having been stolen away by something more interesting than her.”

[dajieshe]

Inclining her chin she stared upwards at Jaliqai, “Living or dead, wedded or not. Aika will always be my sister.”

And then to the aforementioned sister, “How silent you are…” Of course she was, Aika preferred to be kept out of conflict, at least the sort that did not involve a blade.

However, however ,

Her looked so much smaller than how she remembered her. Weak even, thin, as if Aika could slip into a shadow and vanish. It wasn't in body, she had always been very lean and whiplike in frame. Aika looked weak, fearful, not like someone who had been training near religiously with a sword for over a decade. Had she been practicing even? Or was she too filled with manufactured trauma- and to Manami it was absolutely manufactured- to resume in the activities she'd once taken joy in? What had changed?

"Your spirit has grown frail." The heir to the cove lifted one of her hands partially from the baby so that her fingertips rested upon Aika’s arm. "If you could look through my eyes you would see how you've changed."

[pullofthebowstring]

The Wedding | Closed Rp

[pullofthebowstring]

dajieshe:

pullofthebowstring:

“Tsk.” She looked away sourly. Her dark gaze found Azula’s lithe figure cutting a path through the crowd, nearly at the exit already. From the shadows another figure emerged and followed after her by a few steps. 

Yes – doing it here would have been ill advised. Someone would have been upon them before Jaliqai could even land a killing blow, no doubt.

Jaliqai had almost been convinced that the princess had perished in her fall after all. They had spent so long without seeing her. Without hearing a word of her. Surely if she had returned to Caldera there would have been gossip? Hanae would have said something.

Would she? 

Jalqai’s brow drew low for a moment and then she sighed, shaking her head.

“She has proved rather elusive,” she admitted blandly. “I am surprised that we caught up with her here at all.”

She turned her gaze back to Manami, eyes hard. “You are doing that wrong,” she said after a moment, indicating the squalling baby with a nod of her head. “If you are too rough you will injure him.”

Her laugh was clear, almost cutting in sound. “It has endured worse. If being rocked could hurt it irreparably then it didn’t truly emerge from me.” And it didn’t. It was the child of one of her handmaids.

“Is Azula truly ‘elusive’ or is it that the both of you are distracted? Useless.” Then her sharp gaze shifted to Aika. “I have something better at the cove for you, less troublesome but equally exotic.” Easier to control, in Manami’s case.

“How considerate, but no thank you.” Aika muttered, her brows drawing together. “I am happy with Jaliqai.”

“Are you really ? You never seemed like someone who could be second wife or mistress to anyone.” A seemingly casual shrug. “Perhaps your thoughts haven’t lingered upon how lonely such a position might leave you.”

“That is enough,” Jaliqai interrupted tersely. She hadn’t been aware that this much information had made it into Hanae’s letters to the other woman, but Jaliqai supposed that if her loyalty to Manami were to be believable, then she would have to have added in a few of the more juicy tidbits that had come up in their travels.

“You do not know anything of these things,” she said dismissively. If nothing else, Jaliqai was rather certain that Aika would rather be alone than with most of her tribeswomen. And even if that were not the case, Jaliqai would never let her feel lonely.

She thought it to be rather impossible to be lonely when amongst her own people.

[dajieshe]

Ah, she struck a sore spot. At least it would seem so. Something she was insecure in. Had Aika shown a reluctance as a result of that particular development. Manami took a step closer to the pair, watching Jaliqai closely. "You know nothing of what I do and do not know."

Hanae had told her quite in bit during their exchanges- with the exception of this. She had said nothing of Aika planning to attend Ty Lat's wedding. Where was Hanae? Had they discovered her, was she disposed of in some field of fire lilies?

Her sister was capable of that. Possibly.... At times Aika held strong affections for things far more useless than Hanae, so it was not certain.

"As amusing as this all has been, you are wasting my time. You've outworn you worth as a diversion for my sister so that she doesn't peel apart half our ostrich horses out of boredom." She took another slow step towards her sister’s 'fiance'. "Perhaps after the dust settles we'll discover if cragpeople look the same beneath the skin."

[pullofthebowstring]

The Wedding | Closed Rp

[pullofthebowstring]

dajieshe:

pullofthebowstring:

“Yes, I yet live. Unlucky for you, perhaps,” she replied on the edge of her teeth. Jaliqai’s arm tightened about Aika’s waist.

“I was referring to Azula .” She replied rather tersly, rocking the screeching infant a little more roughly in agitation. “Not everything revolves around you, Jakana.” A raised eyebrow. “I don’t recall your mission being to eat eachother’s faces across the Fire Nation.”

“Tsk.” She looked away sourly. Her dark gaze found Azula’s lithe figure cutting a path through the crowd, nearly at the exit already. From the shadows another figure emerged and followed after her by a few steps. 

Yes – doing it here would have been ill advised. Someone would have been upon them before Jaliqai could even land a killing blow, no doubt.

Jaliqai had almost been convinced that the princess had perished in her fall after all. They had spent so long without seeing her. Without hearing a word of her. Surely if she had returned to Caldera there would have been gossip? Hanae would have said something.

Would she? 

Jalqai’s brow drew low for a moment and then she sighed, shaking her head.

“She has proved rather elusive,” she admitted blandly. “I am surprised that we caught up with her here at all.”

She turned her gaze back to Manami, eyes hard. “You are doing that wrong,” she said after a moment, indicating the squalling baby with a nod of her head. “If you are too rough you will injure him.”

[dajieshe]

Her laugh was clear, almost cutting in sound. "It has endured worse. If being rocked could hurt it irreparably then it didn't truly emerge from me." And it didn't. It was the child of one of her handmaids.

"Is Azula truly 'elusive' or is it that the both of you are distracted? Useless." Then her sharp gaze shifted to Aika. "I have something better at the cove for you, less troublesome but equally exotic." Easier to control, in Manami’s case.

"How considerate, but no thank you." Aika muttered, her brows drawing together. "I am happy with Jaliqai."

"Are you really ? You never seemed like someone who could be second wife or mistress to anyone." A seemingly casual shrug. "Perhaps your thoughts haven’t lingered upon how lonely such a position might leave you."

[pullofthebowstring]

The Wedding | Closed Rp

[pullofthebowstring]

dajieshe:

pullofthebowstring:

littlesistersword:

“Sounds perfect.” She whispered with all sincerity. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Azula disappear into the crowd. The hunt would be more rewarding anyways, she believed.

The screaming of the baby grew louder, nearer, pulling Aika from the moment. Manami.

Jaliqai turned, gaze searching out the infant first, before ever seeking Manami. There was a streak of rust upon its blanket, and something sickening twisted up inside her.

She wished she could take the baby away from her right then and there.

“Lady Manami, how lovely to see you again,” Jaliqai greeted, all venom.

As Manami watched them there had been a sick, seething sensation slithering and constricting about her insides. It wasn’t that Aika was so public in her affections or that she was with a woman- spirits no, Manami had made such arrangements for her previously. It was that she was with that one. The one who had defied her so openly.

“Hm.” Manami hummed, eyes darting between the two of them. “If this is what you are inspired to do every time you catch sight of her it’s no wonder she is still alive.”

Manami cared very little about that, in truth.

The baby continued its howling and she rocked it carelessly with a murmured “shut up”.

“Yes, I yet live. Unlucky for you, perhaps,” she replied on the edge of her teeth. Jaliqai’s arm tightened about Aika’s waist.

[dajieshe]

"I was referring to Azula ." She replied rather tersly, rocking the screeching infant a little more roughly in agitation. "Not everything revolves around you, Jakana." A raised eyebrow. "I don't recall your mission being to eat eachother's faces across the Fire Nation."

[pullofthebowstring]

The Wedding | Closed Rp

[pullofthebowstring]

littlesistersword:

pullofthebowstring:

What more she wanted to do they could not in polite company. Jaliqai drew away reluctantly, flushed from kissing, suddenly aware of the heat of the stares at her back. She cared little, truth be told.

Smiling sadly at Aika she nodded, reaching out to cup her cheeks as she pressed their foreheads together familiarly. 

“I want to throw her into a pit of prickle snakes,” she breathed, “and watch them bite her to death.”

“Sounds perfect.” She whispered with all sincerity. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Azula disappear into the crowd. The hunt would be more rewarding anyways, she believed.

The screaming of the baby grew louder, nearer, pulling Aika from the moment. Manami.

Jaliqai turned, gaze searching out the infant first, before ever seeking Manami. There was a streak of rust upon its blanket, and something sickening twisted up inside her.

She wished she could take the baby away from her right then and there.

“Lady Manami, how lovely to see you again,” Jaliqai greeted, all venom.

[dajieshe]

As Manami watched them there had been a sick, seething sensation slithering and constricting about her insides. It wasn't that Aika was so public in her affections or that she was with a woman- spirits no, Manami had made such arrangements for her previously. It was that she was with that one. The one who had defied her so openly.

"Hm." Manami hummed, eyes darting between the two of them. "If this is what you are inspired to do every time you catch sight of her it's no wonder she is still alive."

Manami cared very little about that, in truth.

The baby continued its howling and she rocked it carelessly with a murmured "shut up".

[zhizhuzhikeneng]

An Unusual Wedding || Closed RP

[firelxrdsdaughter]

dajieshe:

firelxrdsdaughter:

Shit. Surprise gripped her for a moment, and she thought to step back but it was too late. The child wailed, and Azula nearly flinched away from the other woman as she reached to place the pin back in her hair. That had been…unexpected, to say the least. 

Would Manami claim that she had hurt the infant? Would the people here believe her?

Azula turned sharply from the heir to the Cove, keeping the howling baby out of Manami’s grasp with a look of annoyance rife across her features. Azula pointedly marched the infant to the nearest concerned looking maid, ridding herself of the panicking bundle before she turned back to Manami with her false smile still firmly in place.

She crossed the space between them gracefully, her teeth on edge.

“Well then, from one friend to another, let me give you some advice.” Azula might have circled the other woman if she had thought that it would make a difference. The crowd was watching now, though, and she could not call attention to their exchange. Could not make too much of a scene. 

“You would do well to remember that he will love that infant far more than he ever cares for you. To him, you are expendable.” Just as I was. 

As if that was news. Manami was more than aware that she simply was needed for ships and children. The relationship was mutual in that way. He was also only needed for children, and not even that really, in addition to the backing of his zealot supporters.

The cove woman brought her hand to her chest in a mocking gesture of hurt. “And here I thought it was true love .” With a smirk she brushed past Azula, towards the maid that currently held the baby. It had yet to calm down. There were few things more grating than the sound of a screaming baby.

With a degree of reluctance Manami’s own servants wouldn’t dare show her the maid allowed her to take the infant from her arms. She proceeded to rock it gently and talk to it in a soothing voice as if she hadn’t been the one who had just stabbed it. Little progress was being made in this endeavor, unfortunately.

Manami cast a look over her shoulder at Azula; hungry, sharp. “You really should come up north sometime.“ She turned, facing Azula fully. “I would love to have you for dinner.”

Perhaps she meant that literally, perhaps not. Cannibalism wasn’t a territory she had ventured into yet nor had a driving interest in. There is a first time for everything, however.

It was then that Anik arrived, she could tell by his even footfalls, the sound of his boots upon the hard floor until he stood beside her. She did not see, however, the way he looked at the screaming infant in her arms. The briefest of expressions that flitted across his features when he noticed the blood smeared upon the blanket.

Guilt.

Revulsion.

Then nothing.

There was not a doubt in his mind after the past few months that the woman he loved was capable of hurting an infant. The question was, would she be willing to hurt her own.

He knew the answer, he just didn’t want to.

I’m sure you would. Another polite smile. 

“We shall have to see if we might coordinate our calendars.” Her gaze flickered to the new arrival. Tall, olive skinned – clearly of one of the Water Tribes. She’d met enough of the ice squatting peasants to know one when she saw one.

Azula watched as he registered what had happened and the brief conflict that wrangled across his features before being carefully buried away. 

Interesting.

She recognized his closeness to the woman standing before her, and the way that he hovered just slightly more closely than was appropriate for a guard and his charge. Very interesting. 

The former princess purposefully allowed her gaze to linger on him before it returned to Manami. 

“I believe I’ve seen what I came to see,” she announced finally. “Congratulations, lady Manami, on the healthy heir.” Azula spotted lord Daiki in the crowd, kicking away her skirt with a practiced flick so as not to trip herself up. 

Through the throng of people she spotted one other familiar face, and she smiled. Oh yes, she had seen what she’d come to see. The swordswoman who had wielded the lion’s claw with the taller Cragwoman, standing close, looking anxious. At least the shorter of the two did.

“Do give my regards to your sister,” she added.

[dajieshe]

The smile on her face grew smaller and her eyes darted in the direction Azula had been looking. A slew of barely cousins milling about, the husband’s family- they were easy to spot as they were less flamboyantly dressed. Among the more practically dressed was the groom’s brother, Lord Daiki. If her father had any say over her destiny he’d likely be here right now, hoping the unmarried lord hadn’t heard the rumors and offering a sizable dowry if it he had. He had no say, no control. Not over her or Aika. There would be no weddings of that sort. She had chosen her own path and she would permit her sister to do whatever unnatural things her nature drove her to do with those of her sex-

- Except that one.

In the crowd she finally spotted what the former princess might have been looking at, Aika and beside her that crag woman. Her jaw clenched. She had brought her to the wedding. What was Aika thinking? Why hadn't Hanae warned her about this? She didn't mention it even once in their ongoing correspondence...

"I will be certain to." She replied, not taking her gaze off of them.

[zhizhuzhikeneng]

An Unusual Wedding || Closed RP

[firelxrdsdaughter]

dajieshe:

firelxrdsdaughter:

“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, Lady Manami.” Azula didn’t miss the way that the grey-clad servants flinched at the picking of the hair pin from her tresses. She took a breath, grounding herself, ready to move quickly away if need be.

Perhaps Manami was just lacking in enough reason that she would openly attack her in front of all of Ty Lat’s wedding guests. Perhaps. 

“But I will say that there was a reason grown men feared me when I was but fourteen years old.” Calm, collected, Azula turned her golden eyes up to watch the other noble. “And honestly I don’t see why we can’t be friends.”

Her smile sharpened at the edges. 

“Unless you can think of one you’d like to share?”

The heir to the cove drew near, standing toe to toe with the smiling woman. She could nearly taste her breath, or more so imagined that she could. What would fear taste like on her skin? Had she ever been afraid? Of course she had. Everyone was afraid of something. Everyone had something that made their heart race and their blood run cold.

Who did Azula love? What did she treasure? Was there anything preventing her from simply throwing herself from the edge of Caldera to silence the voices? To lift the oppressive weight of failure?

Gingerly Manami peeled back the blanket the false heir was swaddled in, running the pad of her index finger along its little arm. It was impossibly soft. How was baby skin so soft. Better yet, what did the world do to turn that skin to turn it into the deflating leather of old age? What was it that caused it? She removed her finger only to apply the sharp end of Azula’s hair ornamentation stabbing it into the fleshy fat of its forearm. It wailed and the ornamentation was withdrawn, blood wiped off across her own hand before the accessory was placed smoothly back in the former princess’s hair.

“I can’t think of any.” A smile, and a light pat of her lightly bloodied palm upon her cheek before she moved to take the screeching infant from Azula’s arms.

Shit. Surprise gripped her for a moment, and she thought to step back but it was too late. The child wailed, and Azula nearly flinched away from the other woman as she reached to place the pin back in her hair. That had been…unexpected, to say the least. 

Would Manami claim that she had hurt the infant? Would the people here believe her?

Azula turned sharply from the heir to the Cove, keeping the howling baby out of Manami’s grasp with a look of annoyance rife across her features. Azula pointedly marched the infant to the nearest concerned looking maid, ridding herself of the panicking bundle before she turned back to Manami with her false smile still firmly in place.

She crossed the space between them gracefully, her teeth on edge.

“Well then, from one friend to another, let me give you some advice.” Azula might have circled the other woman if she had thought that it would make a difference. The crowd was watching now, though, and she could not call attention to their exchange. Could not make too much of a scene. 

“You would do well to remember that he will love that infant far more than he ever cares for you. To him, you are expendable.” Just as I was. 

[dajieshe]

As if that was news. Manami was more than aware that she simply was needed for ships and children. The relationship was mutual in that way. He was also only needed for children, and not even that really, in addition to the backing of his zealot supporters.

The cove woman brought her hand to her chest in a mocking gesture of hurt. “And here I thought it was true love .” With a smirk she brushed past Azula, towards the maid that currently held the baby. It had yet to calm down. There were few things more grating than the sound of a screaming baby.

With a degree of reluctance Manami’s own servants wouldn't dare show her the maid allowed her to take the infant from her arms. She proceeded to rock it gently and talk to it in a soothing voice as if she hadn’t been the one who had just stabbed it. Little progress was being made in this endeavor, unfortunately.

Manami cast a look over her shoulder at Azula; hungry, sharp. “You really should come up north sometime." She turned, facing Azula fully. "I would love to have you for dinner.”

Perhaps she meant that literally, perhaps not. Cannibalism wasn’t a territory she had ventured into yet nor had a driving interest in. There is a first time for everything, however.

It was then that Anik arrived, she could tell by his even footfalls, the sound of his boots upon the hard floor until he stood beside her. She did not see, however, the way he looked at the screaming infant in her arms. The briefest of expressions that flitted across his features when he noticed the blood smeared upon the blanket.

Guilt.

Revulsion.

Then nothing.

There was not a doubt in his mind after the past few months that the woman he loved was capable of hurting an infant. The question was, would she be willing to hurt her own.

He knew the answer, he just didn’t want to.

[zhizhuzhikeneng]

An Unusual Wedding || Closed RP

[firelxrdsdaughter]

dajieshe:

firelxrdsdaughter:

Azula’s hands came up to hold the babe without thought, almost natural. He was a good weight, warm in her arms and then against her breast as she cradled him carefully. Certainly it was a boy. The son her father had always wanted.

She gazed dispassionately down at the squirming body, her heart quickening for only a breath before it had faded back to normal once again. 

The former princess was rather convinced that Manami would have dropped the thing if she had not reached out so quickly to take it. 

Her pleasant smile never moved, though she looked up once more to see the hollow look in the other woman’s eye. Yes. This was exactly the sort of person her father would make into a second wife. Dispassionate, ruthless…But wasteful, she thought. Foolish in goading her this way. 

No she could do nothing in front of the guests, but making a scene would not work in Manami’s favour either. 

Not amongst these Southerners.

“Why do you imagine that?” Azula swayed just slightly, quieting the infant in her arms. “Do tell.”

Those eyes stared; at her stepdaughter, at the baby in her arms. Azula held it so naturally, in such a motherly way. It was almost sweet.

If she burnt them alive would their flesh fuse together before turning to ash?

“No man wants to father a mad dog.“ She replied calmly, quietly. This she knew from experience. “And you are as mad as they come… or so I’ve heard.”

Some claimed that she, herself, was mad in that sense. They just didn’t understand that there was a difference between illness and enlightenment. There were no strange voices telling her to do things. She did them because she enjoyed it. In casting off the restraints most people wear that prevent them from becoming who they truly are she was able to live more naturally, more freely than the rest.

“It’s unfortunate.“ The noblewoman mused as her fingers casually snaked into Azula’s hair, plucking an ornate hair pin from it. “Under different circumstances you and I could have become friends perhaps, if your stomach isn’t as weak as your hold upon reality.”

“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, Lady Manami.” Azula didn’t miss the way that the grey-clad servants flinched at the picking of the hair pin from her tresses. She took a breath, grounding herself, ready to move quickly away if need be.

Perhaps Manami was just lacking in enough reason that she would openly attack her in front of all of Ty Lat’s wedding guests. Perhaps. 

“But I will say that there was a reason grown men feared me when I was but fourteen years old.” Calm, collected, Azula turned her golden eyes up to watch the other noble. “And honestly I don’t see why we can’t be friends.”

Her smile sharpened at the edges. 

“Unless you can think of one you’d like to share?”

[dajieshe]

The heir to the cove drew near, standing toe to toe with the smiling woman. She could nearly taste her breath, or more so imagined that she could. What would fear taste like on her skin? Had she ever been afraid? Of course she had. Everyone was afraid of something. Everyone had something that made their heart race and their blood run cold.

Who did Azula love? What did she treasure? Was there anything preventing her from simply throwing herself from the edge of Caldera to silence the voices? To lift the oppressive weight of failure?

Gingerly Manami peeled back the blanket the false heir was swaddled in, running the pad of her index finger along its little arm. It was impossibly soft. How was baby skin so soft. Better yet, what did the world do to turn that skin to turn it into the deflating leather of old age? What was it that caused it? She removed her finger only to apply the sharp end of Azula’s hair ornamentation stabbing it into the fleshy fat of its forearm. It wailed and the ornamentation was withdrawn, blood wiped off across her own hand before the accessory was placed smoothly back in the former princess’s hair.

“I can't think of any.” A smile, and a light pat of her lightly bloodied palm upon her cheek before she moved to take the screeching infant from Azula's arms.

[zhizhuzhikeneng]

An Unusual Wedding || Closed RP

[firelxrdsdaughter]

dajieshe:

firelxrdsdaughter:

Ah, she’d struck a nerve. Azula continued with her pleasant smile, far more practiced that Manami’s own, she imagined. Flicking long strands of hair over her shoulder, the former princess let out a chuckle.

“’Deviant’? Now that’s one I’ve never heard before.” 

“Is it now?” Her smile was small and pinched, her short laugh like the clattering of knives being dropped upon stone.

She inched closer towards the former princess and her servants followed suit; wavering, eyes darting in search for Anik and Manami’s assigned protectors waiting somewhere discreetly nearby. “Ahh, you must be incredibly relieved that your father is no longer on the throne. “

The child began to fuss and Manami’s smile faded in annoyance before renewing itself as she started to hand the infant to the former princess. “Here, why don’t you hold it.”

Go ahead. Kill it right here and now.

Azula’s hands came up to hold the babe without thought, almost natural. He was a good weight, warm in her arms and then against her breast as she cradled him carefully. Certainly it was a boy. The son her father had always wanted.

She gazed dispassionately down at the squirming body, her heart quickening for only a breath before it had faded back to normal once again. 

The former princess was rather convinced that Manami would have dropped the thing if she had not reached out so quickly to take it. 

Her pleasant smile never moved, though she looked up once more to see the hollow look in the other woman’s eye. Yes. This was exactly the sort of person her father would make into a second wife. Dispassionate, ruthless…But wasteful, she thought. Foolish in goading her this way. 

No she could do nothing in front of the guests, but making a scene would not work in Manami’s favour either. 

Not amongst these Southerners.

“Why do you imagine that?” Azula swayed just slightly, quieting the infant in her arms. “Do tell.”

[dajieshe]

Those eyes stared; at her stepdaughter, at the baby in her arms. Azula held it so naturally, in such a motherly way. It was almost sweet.

If she burnt them alive would their flesh fuse together before turning to ash?

“No man wants to father a mad dog.“ She replied calmly, quietly. This she knew from experience. “And you are as mad as they come… or so I’ve heard.”

Some claimed that she, herself, was mad in that sense. They just didn’t understand that there was a difference between illness and enlightenment. There were no strange voices telling her to do things. She did them because she enjoyed it. In casting off the restraints most people wear that prevent them from becoming who they truly are she was able to live more naturally, more freely than the rest.

“It's unfortunate." The noblewoman mused as her fingers casually snaked into Azula's hair, plucking an ornate hair pin from it. "Under different circumstances you and I could have become friends perhaps, if your stomach isn’t as weak as your hold upon reality.”

[zhizhuzhikeneng]

An Unusual Wedding || Closed RP

[firelxrdsdaughter]

dajieshe:

firelxrdsdaughter:

Azula thought that it would be laughably easy to simply reach out and snatch the infant out of Manami’s arms. She could get it done and over with in a moment. Secure her brother’s throne. Make certain that their father never had another spawn in his lifetime.

But that would be foolish, in the end.

She needed to stay alive and out of a cage long enough to make certain that her father really would never spawn again. To make certain that Zuko’s throne remained his for long enough for it to matter. 

Another time. Now that she was rather certain of what she knew. Manami might have heard the rumours at the palace, but Azula didn’t think it likely. They’d kept them well under wraps, though certainly there had been speculation amongst staff and nobles alike when she had returned with her brother and his friends, near mortally wounded. 

She doubted anyone in the party had breathed a word to strangers. Especially Zuko. 

No, there was some other way that Manami had discovered what had happened on the boat, and in revealing as much she had slipped up. “No, you’re right. Rumours do travel fast.”

Her gold eyes narrowed just slightly, the pleasant airs she had put on feeling almost fragile in the smile that she bared her teeth with. “I hear a rumour that you had to stop sailing for a while when you were with child, for instance,” Azula ventured finally, circling back around.

“The seasickness must have been awful.”

She knew. Why else bring it up? It would not even be worth mentioning if she was not referring to her very necessary departure from Ozai’s ship.

In truth, the seasickness had not been unbearable. She was a woman of the cove, giving birth at sea was not unimaginable. She could have powered through it. What was difficult to fathom was how she would be able to hide the fact that the child was undoubtedly Anik’s, not Ozai’s. It would have been born too early and too healthy for being ‘too early’. There had been no way to know for certain until the child was born, but Manami had made an accurate guess that the child would emerge looking somewhat like the Iron Wharf bastard did. Olive skinned, foreign and -Agni forbid- the incredibly slim likelihood of being a water bender.

“That’s hardly a rumor.“ She scoffed, waving the fingers of her right hand dismissively, unable to do much more while holding a baby. One of her coral rings caught briefly on the grey embroidery threads sewn into the infants blanket before releasing it. “Of course I had to stop. Carrying a child destroys everything. Any woman who has had one could tell you that if she wasn’t so concerned about how she might appear in polite company.”

Continuing to ignore the baby’s attempts at speech, Manami continued; choosing to drop what thin shred of politeness she had held onto when first speaking with what she supposed was her stepdaughter now. They were so close in age and, Manami noted, bore one or two facial similarities. Nineth cousins allegedly though that meant nothing, not even in the south. The vague resemblance was gross and likely had something to do with Ozai’s first wife. “I only say it, of course, because I am not in polite company. Deviants and lunatics, regardless of title, do not count as such.”

The discomfort coming from her grey clad handmaids was near palpable. Honestly she didn’t need to even look at them to know. Thankfully the mother of the child in her arms was not among them. Manami had not been so foolish as to bring her. For the time being, Anik was looking through the crowds for Aika, who one party goer had mentioned he had seen earlier- along with Jaliqai.

Ah, she’d struck a nerve. Azula continued with her pleasant smile, far more practiced that Manami’s own, she imagined. Flicking long strands of hair over her shoulder, the former princess let out a chuckle.

“’Deviant’? Now that’s one I’ve never heard before.” 

[dajieshe]

“Is it now?” Her smile was small and pinched, her short laugh like the clattering of knives being dropped upon stone.

She inched closer towards the former princess and her servants followed suit; wavering, eyes darting in search for Anik and Manami’s assigned protectors waiting somewhere discreetly nearby. “Ahh, you must be incredibly relieved that your father is no longer on the throne. “

The child began to fuss and Manami’s smile faded in annoyance before renewing itself as she started to hand the infant to the former princess. “Here, why don’t you hold it.”

Go ahead. Kill it right here and now.

[zhizhuzhikeneng]

An Unusual Wedding || Closed RP

[firelxrdsdaughter]

dajieshe:

firelxrdsdaughter:

“If that were enough to stop me I doubt I would have made it this far,” Azula answered with a shrug of her shoulders. The borrowed ornaments in her hair shimmered and danced with the movement, and Azula flicked the edge of her sleeve away from her wrist before allowing it to come to rest at the small of her back.

“So the answer, in short, is that I find sailing as tedious now as I have always found it.” Not nearly fast enough. Surrounded by superstitious men. The smell of a boat after a long voyage. 

No, she had never really been the sea faring type…But that had certainly never stopped her.

“I’d be interested to hear how you came to know this rumour, however.” She raised her eyebrows at Manami, almost mocking. I see you, fool.

“In the way you would suspect.” Manami drawled. “Someone or other told me. I wasn’t there obviously, on the boat or in the palace.” Her lips curled into a near smirk, for the shortest most fleeting of moments. “If the idea that nothing remains secret for long bothers you, you’ve come to the wrong province.”

The baby in her arms babbled something or other. If she were with anyone else she would be bracing herself for stupid remarks regarding how cute it was or what a talker it would grow up to be. It was making random noise because it was dumb and wanted to entertain itself. There were at least seven fully grown adults with a similar problem here…

-It was interesting though, how Azula had come to her. A random woman with an infant. Manami suspected she might know something. Almost hoped she did. It would be all the more amusing that way.

Azula thought that it would be laughably easy to simply reach out and snatch the infant out of Manami’s arms. She could get it done and over with in a moment. Secure her brother’s throne. Make certain that their father never had another spawn in his lifetime.

But that would be foolish, in the end.

She needed to stay alive and out of a cage long enough to make certain that her father really would never spawn again. To make certain that Zuko’s throne remained his for long enough for it to matter. 

Another time. Now that she was rather certain of what she knew. Manami might have heard the rumours at the palace, but Azula didn’t think it likely. They’d kept them well under wraps, though certainly there had been speculation amongst staff and nobles alike when she had returned with her brother and his friends, near mortally wounded. 

She doubted anyone in the party had breathed a word to strangers. Especially Zuko. 

No, there was some other way that Manami had discovered what had happened on the boat, and in revealing as much she had slipped up. “No, you’re right. Rumours do travel fast.”

Her gold eyes narrowed just slightly, the pleasant airs she had put on feeling almost fragile in the smile that she bared her teeth with. “I hear a rumour that you had to stop sailing for a while when you were with child, for instance,” Azula ventured finally, circling back around.

“The seasickness must have been awful.”

[dajieshe]

She knew. Why else bring it up? It would not even be worth mentioning if she was not referring to her very necessary departure from Ozai’s ship.

In truth, the seasickness had not been unbearable. She was a woman of the cove, giving birth at sea was not unimaginable. She could have powered through it. What was difficult to fathom was how she would be able to hide the fact that the child was undoubtedly Anik’s, not Ozai’s. It would have been born too early and too healthy for being ‘too early’. There had been no way to know for certain until the child was born, but Manami had made an accurate guess that the child would emerge looking somewhat like the Iron Wharf bastard did. Olive skinned, foreign and -Agni forbid- the incredibly slim likelihood of being a water bender.

“That’s hardly a rumor.“ She scoffed, waving the fingers of her right hand dismissively, unable to do much more while holding a baby. One of her coral rings caught briefly on the grey embroidery threads sewn into the infants blanket before releasing it. "Of course I had to stop. Carrying a child destroys everything. Any woman who has had one could tell you that if she wasn’t so concerned about how she might appear in polite company.”

Continuing to ignore the baby’s attempts at speech, Manami continued; choosing to drop what thin shred of politeness she had held onto when first speaking with what she supposed was her stepdaughter now. They were so close in age and, Manami noted, bore one or two facial similarities. Nineth cousins allegedly though that meant nothing, not even in the south. The vague resemblance was gross and likely had something to do with Ozai’s first wife. “I only say it, of course, because I am not in polite company. Deviants and lunatics, regardless of title, do not count as such.”

The discomfort coming from her grey clad handmaids was near palpable. Honestly she didn’t need to even look at them to know. Thankfully the mother of the child in her arms was not among them. Manami had not been so foolish as to bring her. For the time being, Anik was looking through the crowds for Aika, who one party goer had mentioned he had seen earlier- along with Jaliqai.

[zhizhuzhikeneng]

An Unusual Wedding || Closed RP

[firelxrdsdaughter]

dajieshe:

firelxrdsdaughter:

“Ah yes. Lady Manami.” Azula smiled nearly cryptically at the other woman, who seemed troubled for a brief moment – and overly smug. A common thread amongst those that Azula found she must put in their places.

“Do you spend all of your time in the North, then? That must get rather boring.”

“I am often at sea.” She flicked her hair over her shoulders just in time to evade the baby’s grasping hands. “I don’t imagine it’s any more boring than being locked in your bedroom…” Like an ornery child.

Azula looked like him, Ozai. As amusing as the rumor of her illegitimacy was, Manami doubted it was true. She was the second born. Ozai’s first wife likely didn’t have the opportunity to be unfaithful after marrying him. He wasn’t exactly a trusting fellow.

Not even of his own daughter. The one who had been so ‘perfect’. Though he hadn’t thought her to be perfect when he was first considering dispatching her. One little flaw and a masterpiece could become refuse to him. He was more callous than Manami was in that respect, otherwise Aika would not be alive and able to continue fooling around with that barbarian woman.

“I don’t imagine you to be the sea faring sort anymore. Rumor has it that you had a rather unpleasant experience at sea recently.” A part of Manami was glad that she had survived. She had her own ideas regarding what she would like to do to the former princess.

“If that were enough to stop me I doubt I would have made it this far,” Azula answered with a shrug of her shoulders. The borrowed ornaments in her hair shimmered and danced with the movement, and Azula flicked the edge of her sleeve away from her wrist before allowing it to come to rest at the small of her back.

“So the answer, in short, is that I find sailing as tedious now as I have always found it.” Not nearly fast enough. Surrounded by superstitious men. The smell of a boat after a long voyage. 

No, she had never really been the sea faring type…But that had certainly never stopped her.

“I’d be interested to hear how you came to know this rumour, however.” She raised her eyebrows at Manami, almost mocking. I see you, fool.

[dajieshe]

"In the way you would suspect." Manami drawled. "Someone or other told me. I wasn't there obviously, on the boat or in the palace." Her lips curled into a near smirk, for the shortest most fleeting of moments. "If the idea that nothing remains secret for long bothers you, you've come to the wrong province."

The baby in her arms babbled something or other. If she were with anyone else she would be bracing herself for stupid remarks regarding how cute it was or what a talker it would grow up to be. It was making random noise because it was dumb and wanted to entertain itself. There were at least seven fully grown adults with a similar problem here...

-It was interesting though, how Azula had come to her. A random woman with an infant. Manami suspected she might know something. Almost hoped she did. It would be all the more amusing that way.

[zhizhuzhikeneng]

An Unusual Wedding || Closed RP

[firelxrdsdaughter]

dajieshe:

firelxrdsdaughter:

A gentle scoff released through her nose, brushing over Azula’s lips. “I’m not,” she agreed, “but Ty Lee is one of my oldest friends – and I was obliged to attend on behalf of my brother.”

Azula gazed briefly at the sleeping baby. She supposed she ought to feel some remorse or horror at the idea of her purposefully leaving ‘it’ to drown. She didn’t. Not when she knew that it was something that would have to be done (distasteful as it was) eventually. If Zuko’s rule was to remain secure.

Not when she knew that the woman before her, nearly her same age, would be stopped if Ozai had anything to say about it. And he would, if history was any indication.

“I do not believe we’ve met, and you have me at a disadvantage. You are..?”

She was indeed at a disadvantage, Manami believed.

“One of the only Northerners here,” Manami supplied with a irritated sigh as the small flesh grub in her arms stirred. If it started screaming again it would be tempting to pass it off to a handmaid but that would be unwise with Azula here- not that it mattered-. Even without her bending, even while drugged she had managed to get past Ozai, his men, Aika and Jaliqai. Taking out one of her handmaids would be nothing. “ Manami, from Shipwright’s Cove.”

A brief looked down to see big eyes staring up at her. It bothered her, not that she felt nothing for her handmaid’s baby, but that she didn’t feel much for her own. Wasn’t she supposed to be filled with motherly love and renewed purpose? It had been a let down really. She was tired often, angry more often, the nightmares were frequent on the occaision she managed to sleep. Thankfully she never had to take care of the babies herself in addition to dealing with this.

“Ah yes. Lady Manami.” Azula smiled nearly cryptically at the other woman, who seemed troubled for a brief moment – and overly smug. A common thread amongst those that Azula found she must put in their places.

“Do you spend all of your time in the North, then? That must get rather boring.”

[dajieshe]

"I am often at sea." She flicked her hair over her shoulders just in time to evade the baby's grasping hands. "I don't imagine it's any more boring than being locked in your bedroom..." Like an ornery child.

Azula looked like him, Ozai. As amusing as the rumor of her illegitimacy was, Manami doubted it was true. She was the second born. Ozai’s first wife likely didn't have the opportunity to be unfaithful after marrying him. He wasn't exactly a trusting fellow.

Not even of his own daughter. The one who had been so 'perfect'. Though he hadn't thought her to be perfect when he was first considering dispatching her. One little flaw and a masterpiece could become refuse to him. He was more callous than Manami was in that respect, otherwise Aika would not be alive and able to continue fooling around with that barbarian woman.

"I don't imagine you to be the sea faring sort anymore. Rumor has it that you had a rather unpleasant experience at sea recently." A part of Manami was glad that she had survived. She had her own ideas regarding what she would like to do to the former princess.

[zhizhuzhikeneng]

An Unusual Wedding || Closed RP

[firelxrdsdaughter]

zhizhuzhikeneng:

firelxrdsdaughter:

“Yes, Ty Lee. Have you greeted Lord Gen yet?” Azula smirked at the question, eyes bright. Ah, so this was who Chun Hua had invited on her behalf some days ago, surely. Or at least, one of what Azula assumed were many suitors that the courtesan found appropriate for one of the younger daughters of the noble house of Mudan. 

Ty Lee shot Azula an unamused look which prompted the hand upon her shoulder to firm its grip slightly. Looking again to Chun Hua Ty Lee replied, “I have not yet. He seemed preoccupied with his sister.” And making certain she didn’t challenge someone to fight her outside.

Chun Hua kept her voice low. “As are many single men his age, with the exception of the ones still attached to their mothers.” Ty Lee vaguely recalled someone making a joke along those lines regarding Zuko before his engagement. “Go speak with the sister, Lord Gen will follow.”

Her ribs moved with a silent sigh. “….I will.” As she rose slowly, carefully to her feet Ty Lee looked to Azula and mouthed a quiet apology.

Azula made certain to pout at Ty Lee as she retreated. Chun Hua’s complete disregard had been palpable, of course, but Azula would deal with the slight at another time. For now the other woman had in fact aided her.

The former princess waited a few moments before rising gracefully to her own feet. Not far away she could hear Xia’s tittering laughter (as annoying as any other trait about her), and she knew that somewhere nearby Bora Cho was no doubt watching her. 

Lucky for her that she had always had chaperones, and that early on she had learned how to create a distraction to slip away, if needed. For now it was certainly not needed.

For now she needed the safety of the crowd.

The heavily perfumed partygoers were mostly blissfully ignorant to her presence as she floated seemingly aimlessly amongst them, covertly searching. A few paid her more mind than she would have liked. Azula ignored them pointedly. From the corner of her eye she caught the movement of the dark haired girl who had faced her on the boat.

Yes. Yes that was her. Yes, yes. And the archer too. The one with the braids whose face she barely remembered. She would never forget the way that she held herself, however.

Azula bit back a grin.

On the other side of the room the sister (as Ty Lee had pointed her out to her earlier in the celebration) and her retinue were talking and drinking. Azula turned her course and floated over to them first. To where she knew her new brother or sister would be. To the true pricklesnake hidden in the bushes. 

“What a charming infant,” she said by way of announcing her arrival. “It’s a bit unusual for one so young to be at a celebration such as this.”

[dajieshe]

Manami turned, ready to deal with another vapid well-wisher. How many had she dealt with today? Their insincere smiles and unoriginal- Oh.

Oh oh.

“Mudan is the place for unusual things it would seem.” The grin that overtook her teeth and lips for a moment was Cheshire, near feral before it settled into one that was the same nature of manufactured false goodwill she’d witnessed the entire weekend.

She then cast that false smile towards the infant in her arms. It was neither her blood or Ozai’s. The other one was hers but she had felt equal disconnect from it. “I am to drop it into the tides on its thirteenth month, as is tradition. It can face a silly flower festival before the possibility of drowning.” Not that the ‘protectors’ Ozai had assigned to her and the child would ever permit that, cove tradition or not. It was fortunate that the swap occurred before their arrival. They hardly allowed her a moment’s privacy- which was what must have Anik so out of sorts lately.

Then her eyes were upon the former princess again. “It’s a curious thing, seeing you so far south. You don’t strike me as one for flowers… Neither am I but I am related to these airy things through my mother.”

[firelxrdsdaughter]

A gentle scoff released through her nose, brushing over Azula’s lips. “I’m not,” she agreed, “but Ty Lee is one of my oldest friends – and I was obliged to attend on behalf of my brother.”

Azula gazed briefly at the sleeping baby. She supposed she ought to feel some remorse or horror at the idea of her purposefully leaving ‘it’ to drown. She didn’t. Not when she knew that it was something that would have to be done (distasteful as it was) eventually. If Zuko’s rule was to remain secure.

Not when she knew that the woman before her, nearly her same age, would be stopped if Ozai had anything to say about it. And he would, if history was any indication.

“I do not believe we’ve met, and you have me at a disadvantage. You are..?”

[dajieshe]

She was indeed at a disadvantage, Manami believed.

"One of the only Northerners here," Manami supplied with a irritated sigh as the small flesh grub in her arms stirred. If it started screaming again it would be tempting to pass it off to a handmaid but that would be unwise with Azula here- not that it mattered-. Even without her bending, even while drugged she had managed to get past Ozai, his men, Aika and Jaliqai. Taking out one of her handmaids would be nothing. " Manami, from Shipwright’s Cove."

A brief looked down to see big eyes staring up at her. It bothered her, not that she felt nothing for her handmaid's baby, but that she didn't feel much for her own. Wasn't she supposed to be filled with motherly love and renewed purpose? It had been a let down really. She was tired often, angry more often, the nightmares were frequent on the occaision she managed to sleep. Thankfully she never had to take care of the babies herself in addition to dealing with this.

[zhizhuzhikeneng]

An Unusual Wedding || Closed RP

[firelxrdsdaughter]

zhizhuzhikeneng:

firelxrdsdaughter:

“Yes, Ty Lee. Have you greeted Lord Gen yet?” Azula smirked at the question, eyes bright. Ah, so this was who Chun Hua had invited on her behalf some days ago, surely. Or at least, one of what Azula assumed were many suitors that the courtesan found appropriate for one of the younger daughters of the noble house of Mudan. 

Ty Lee shot Azula an unamused look which prompted the hand upon her shoulder to firm its grip slightly. Looking again to Chun Hua Ty Lee replied, “I have not yet. He seemed preoccupied with his sister.” And making certain she didn’t challenge someone to fight her outside.

Chun Hua kept her voice low. “As are many single men his age, with the exception of the ones still attached to their mothers.” Ty Lee vaguely recalled someone making a joke along those lines regarding Zuko before his engagement. “Go speak with the sister, Lord Gen will follow.”

Her ribs moved with a silent sigh. “….I will.” As she rose slowly, carefully to her feet Ty Lee looked to Azula and mouthed a quiet apology.

Azula made certain to pout at Ty Lee as she retreated. Chun Hua’s complete disregard had been palpable, of course, but Azula would deal with the slight at another time. For now the other woman had in fact aided her.

The former princess waited a few moments before rising gracefully to her own feet. Not far away she could hear Xia’s tittering laughter (as annoying as any other trait about her), and she knew that somewhere nearby Bora Cho was no doubt watching her. 

Lucky for her that she had always had chaperones, and that early on she had learned how to create a distraction to slip away, if needed. For now it was certainly not needed.

For now she needed the safety of the crowd.

The heavily perfumed partygoers were mostly blissfully ignorant to her presence as she floated seemingly aimlessly amongst them, covertly searching. A few paid her more mind than she would have liked. Azula ignored them pointedly. From the corner of her eye she caught the movement of the dark haired girl who had faced her on the boat.

Yes. Yes that was her. Yes, yes. And the archer too. The one with the braids whose face she barely remembered. She would never forget the way that she held herself, however.

Azula bit back a grin.

On the other side of the room the sister (as Ty Lee had pointed her out to her earlier in the celebration) and her retinue were talking and drinking. Azula turned her course and floated over to them first. To where she knew her new brother or sister would be. To the true pricklesnake hidden in the bushes. 

“What a charming infant,” she said by way of announcing her arrival. “It’s a bit unusual for one so young to be at a celebration such as this.”

[dajieshe]

Manami turned, ready to deal with another vapid well-wisher. How many had she dealt with today? Their insincere smiles and unoriginal- Oh.

Oh oh.

“Mudan is the place for unusual things it would seem.” The grin that overtook her teeth and lips for a moment was Cheshire, near feral before it settled into one that was the same nature of manufactured false goodwill she’d witnessed the entire weekend.

She then cast that false smile towards the infant in her arms. It was neither her blood or Ozai’s. The other one was hers but she had felt equal disconnect from it. “I am to drop it into the tides on its thirteenth month, as is tradition. It can face a silly flower festival before the possibility of drowning.” Not that the ‘protectors’ Ozai had assigned to her and the child would ever permit that, cove tradition or not. It was fortunate that the swap occurred before their arrival. They hardly allowed her a moment’s privacy- which was what must have Anik so out of sorts lately.

Then her eyes were upon the former princess again. “It’s a curious thing, seeing you so far south. You don’t strike me as one for flowers… Neither am I but I am related to these airy things through my mother.”

[bookshavepores]