She'd burned Uncle, and tossed him against a wall like a broken doll. Zuko had been sure until a minute ago that she would take him as well, but he'd got a good kick in, when she wasn't expecting it, and she was limping slightly.
He might actually be able to take her.
“When I capture you,” Azula said, “Father will take your bending.” She smiled cruelly for a moment. “Imagine what it will feel like. Your inner fire going out. Bending isn't just a matter of self-defense, you know. You'll feel cold all the time, and you'll want to warm yourself up- but every time you reach for your fire, it won't be there. And it will be a shock to find it missing, every time, no matter how long it's been, no matter how accustomed to losing your bending you think you've become.”
She stared at him intently, as though waiting for him to cower in fear. As though she had seen what losing bending was like, after interrogating dozens of prisoners over and over until she knew all the the gory details.
Or like she wanted him to think she had.
“It's horrible,” she told him, face now neutral.
Zuko thought, not for the first time, that his sister was a sick, twisted excuse for a human being.
He kept his guard up and didn't listen too hard to anything she said, because if Azula was talking, it was probably supposed to be a distraction. He kept an eye out for Ty Lee, because the damned acrobat seemed to follow Azula around everywhere, and it was kind of strange that she wasn't here now, wasn't it? He was sure she'd pop up from behind him somewhere, any moment now. Why else would Azula keep talking to him?
But Ty Lee didn't show up. When Azula beat him to a pulp, it was entirely on her own.
Uncle was still unconscious on the other side of the room, and the last thought Zuko had (before Azula smashed him into a wall, too) was: at least we'll be together.
He woke up alone, in the same spot she'd knocked him unconscious, and with a large lump already forming on his head. Uncle was gone, and Zuko had no idea where Azula might have taken him- and most of all, he had no idea why Azula hadn't taken Zuko, too.
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branchandroot
Family Reunion
Date: 2011-03-11 07:02 am (UTC)He might actually be able to take her.
“When I capture you,” Azula said, “Father will take your bending.” She smiled cruelly for a moment. “Imagine what it will feel like. Your inner fire going out. Bending isn't just a matter of self-defense, you know. You'll feel cold all the time, and you'll want to warm yourself up- but every time you reach for your fire, it won't be there. And it will be a shock to find it missing, every time, no matter how long it's been, no matter how accustomed to losing your bending you think you've become.”
She stared at him intently, as though waiting for him to cower in fear. As though she had seen what losing bending was like, after interrogating dozens of prisoners over and over until she knew all the the gory details.
Or like she wanted him to think she had.
“It's horrible,” she told him, face now neutral.
Zuko thought, not for the first time, that his sister was a sick, twisted excuse for a human being.
He kept his guard up and didn't listen too hard to anything she said, because if Azula was talking, it was probably supposed to be a distraction. He kept an eye out for Ty Lee, because the damned acrobat seemed to follow Azula around everywhere, and it was kind of strange that she wasn't here now, wasn't it? He was sure she'd pop up from behind him somewhere, any moment now. Why else would Azula keep talking to him?
But Ty Lee didn't show up. When Azula beat him to a pulp, it was entirely on her own.
Uncle was still unconscious on the other side of the room, and the last thought Zuko had (before Azula smashed him into a wall, too) was: at least we'll be together.
He woke up alone, in the same spot she'd knocked him unconscious, and with a large lump already forming on his head. Uncle was gone, and Zuko had no idea where Azula might have taken him- and most of all, he had no idea why Azula hadn't taken Zuko, too.