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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 1:44:55 GMT -5
Sal winced, realizing too late how badly he’d phrased that. He hadn’t meant Zuko specifically, but still…he probably could have made that clearer. But it was too late now. It didn’t help that he was already uncomfortable with this whole situation, or that he’d gone back and forth over and over again on what to do if Zuko mentioned teaching him again. He crossed his arms, doing his best not to flinch as the words stabbed into him, sharper than he’d expected them to be. “Do you even hear yourself?” He snapped, his own temper flaring with unexpected heat inside of him. “Oh, I’m so sorry I don’t instantly trust the first nobleman who doesn’t try to kill me on sight. Must be all that awful bias us Skaa are trained to have, right? Just us attacking noblemen for no reason again, because we’re all just as bad as they are. Gee, I wonder why I might feel a little uneasy being that close to you with a weapon I don’t even know how to use?” He didn’t know where the words had come from. He wasn’t even positive he meant all of them. But the heavy silence between them seemed to have just snapped. “And you know what? I think I’m doing just fine on my own, thanks. You’re the only one between the two of us that’s actually needed saving, so don’t act like I need your help just because you’re noble!”
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 3:08:18 GMT -5
Zuko wasn’t entirely certain why his temper flared, but once it had there was no stopping it. He didn’t like to think he was prone to unpredictable fits of anger, but perhaps that was one reason he really was similar to his father. Although… Ozai seemed to be more calculated in his rage. Zuko tended to blow up and take down everyone in his general vicinity. When his words came out, they were sharp and barbed, eyes narrowed with the same vitriol he was letting flw from his lips. “I’m so sorry for trying to do something helpful! How foolish of me to think that some noblemen will come at you with a knife far more quickly than I would! How absolutely stupid of me to think that this is the kind of world where you have to defend yourself!” Zuko may have been a pampered nobleman once, but he had long since learned that life wasn’t like that for most people. He wanted to go home. He wanted things to be simple again, even if it meant he never learned how terrible the world truly was. Maybe it was selfish of him, but in truth he didn’t think he really cared. “Don’t put words in my mouth,” he added hotly, pulling at the restraints on his wrist with all of the strength he had. “I never said you were as bad as the nobility. You ever heard the saying power corrupts? Well it does! Skaa or nobleman, doesn’t matter. But if you don’t want to touch my swords, fine! And since you’ve made your opinion perfectly well known, I’ll be going now!” Zuko lurched forward suddenly, breaking the rope he’d managed to wear down over his good knee. His wrists were raw and bleeding, but he didn’t seem to notice as he pushed himself out of the bed. He half walked half stumbled towards the door, not deigning to even glance behind him.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 3:48:50 GMT -5
“Oh, don’t,” Sal snapped, unable to stop once he’d started. He had never been prone to anger, not really, but there it was, scorching his throat and lungs. “Don’t you dare talk to me about needing to defend myself, don’t you dare act like I’ve never heard of how dangerous the world is, because I can promise you that I have been there. I live there! You think you can just sit there and act all self-righteous and offended because I don’t trust you? Well, I don’t! The last time you came anywhere near me on your own, you trapped me, tied me up, and came pretty close to killing me! You spent every single day between then and when you broke your leg trying to do it again! So yeah, Zuko, I have some idea about how dangerous the world is, and I don’t think - “ He broke off as Zuko stood, flinching back hard enough to send him stumbling several steps back before he could process what had happened. And then he turned and dove for the swords, grabbing the hilt of one at random and darting between Zuko and the door. “Stop,” he said sharply, trying to sound like he meant it. Like the sword didn’t feel heavy and unwieldy where he gripped it with both hands. Like the tip of it wasn’t quivering, just a little.
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 3:59:30 GMT -5
“Lord Ruler, Fisher!” Zuko snapped, eyes flashing as he looked back at Sal, “I’m not asking you to trust me! I sure as hell don’t trust you! But like it or not, I need you alive, and if you go and get yourself killed, that doesn’t really work, now does it?” He wished he had some brass… the anger was boiling under his skin, making him feel warmer than he liked. He needed to offload some of it. Needed something to help cool his head. Of course Sal had taken his bracers. He’d probably gone so far as to sell them. “Please,” Zuko hissed, something hard, uncompromising, and poisonous coating the word. “I’m not going to kill you. If I wanted to kill you, you would have been dead a long time ago.” He wasn’t lying about that. He’d had plenty of chances where he could easily have just thrown a knife and taken Sal down. He didn’t need him dead, he needed him alive. And he had yet to kill anyone. The thought made his stomach churn, though he knew his father would call that weakness. He wasn’t sure if Iroh would have agreed or not… “We have two options here,” Zuko said after a moment, golden gaze hard as it locked on Sal’s blue. “Either you let me go and I try to find someone else who knows about the Survivor. If I don’t find someone, it’s back to chasing you. Or we can fight, and injured or not I like my odds.” He didn’t know why he wanted to fight so much. It was almost objectively a stupid choice, but his blood was boiling, heart racing. He needed something.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 4:22:54 GMT -5
“But you are, and what’s worse is that you don’t seem to get that,” Sal shot back, unable to keep the acid from his tone. “You don’t get that I can’t just take your word for it, I don’t *get* to be wrong! You say you’re not asking me to trust you, but you’re asking me to stand next to you holding one of your swords. You’re not asking me to trust you, but you’re asking me to focus on learning a skill, not on whether you’re about to grab it from me, or how fast I could get away if you decide it’s a good time to try catching me again, and the fact that you can’t even tell why I think it’s a bad idea makes me even more sure I’m right!” He was breathing hard, his heart pounding furiously against his ribs, but he didn’t look away. Zuko was deadly serious about it, too. Half healed leg or not, he was ready for a fight, and probably confident he could win it, too. He stared back, refusing to look away for even a second. “Your leg isn’t all the way healed,” he said finally, the words sharp. “Maybe you could beat me, but then what? You think you can just walk away? You could end up with a permanent limp walking around on that, and I don’t think you're willing to risk that. Back. Off.”
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 4:36:13 GMT -5
“You really think I’ve never been betrayed, don’t you?” Zuko snarled, unable to keep the fire from his voice. “You really think my life has been wonderful just because I’m noble, that I can’t possibly understand why you don’t trust me!” He braced himself against the wall, wincing as the adrenaline died down just enough that he could feel his injured leg beneath him. Sal was right. If he walked on it for too long, he would have a permanent limp. “I never asked you to untie me,” he pointed out sharply, rubbing at his raw wrists. He was fairly certain some of the scrapes were bleeding, but he didn’t bother to look down and check. If it was bleeding, there wasn’t much that could be done. It would heal on its own. “You know what, Fisher?” Zuko hissed, staring at the sword, “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to pretend you give a shit about my leg while you sit there acting like my entire purpose in life is to hurt you!” His knuckles clenched into a fist against the wall, face contracting as he registered the pain in his leg. He needed to sit back down, but he refused to do that now. “I’m leaving,” he added, shaking his head just a little as he stepped towards the door. “And if you stop me, you better have a really [oops!]ing good reason why.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 4:55:09 GMT -5
“Compared to what pretty much every Skaa in this world has lived through? Yeah, actually, I do!” Sal retorted, blue eyes flashing. “Because it seems pretty wildly unlikely that I just happened to run into the one nobleman in the entire city who’s had it worse! Who didn’t grow up starving, who didn’t learn by the age of three never to look anyone better dressed than them in the eye. I’m not saying your life is perfect, but you do not get to stand there and tell me that I’m being unfair just because you’ve had bad days too! And by the way, I think you’ve made it very clear that being tied wouldn’t stop you if you wanted to hurt me!” He fought the urge to glance at Zuko’s leg. He could already tell it was taking a lot for Zuko to stand, but he had no one to blame for that but himself. The smart thing to do would be probably be to step aside and let his own arrogance take care of him, to stop wasting his breath here, but something stopped him and he stayed stubbornly where he was. “I said back off!” He said sharply, raising the sword to block Zuko’s path. “I swear, Zuko, I may not be as trained as you are, but if you take one step closer I’m gonna learn real fast.”
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 5:19:51 GMT -5
“Nobody mentioned what the Skaa have been through!” Zuko retorted, the words tumbling out before he could stop them. He wasn’t sure he wanted to stop. It had been far too long since he’d been allowed to get his feelings ut in any way at all, and though he knew most of them weren’t directed at Sal, it was nice to have somewhere for them to go. Some sort of target, even though they were both talking past each other. “I think you’re mishearing me on purpose!” He added, not caring that his voice was raising in volume. If someone found them here, then fine. They’d both probably die if it was the wrong person, but the part of Zuko that had never been put out when his father burned him didn’t care. If he was going to keep burning, he might as well take the world down with him. He didn’t really want that, but it was nice to pretend that he did. “You don’t get to tell me that what I’ve been through doesn’t matter because I had food in my stomach and a roof over my head.” His voice was quieter than it was before, but laced with something much deadlier. He may have believed that he deserved the punishment he got, but he had still suffered for it. It didn’t matter whether that suffering had been better or worse than what the Skaa faced. No matter how you looked at the situation, there was a betrayal. Iroh, maybe, for not stopping Ozai. Ozai, for insisting on fighting. Azula, for cheering. He could still hear her laughter in his nightmares. That hadn’t been the only situation, but it was the most extreme. “Let me go, Fisher.” He barely reacted to the swords; he was focusing more on trying to stay standing.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 5:37:18 GMT -5
The part of Sal that had learned how to survive as a thief flinched at the noise, but he ignored it, the fire Zuko had somehow stoked inside him effectively drowning it out. “I can hear you just fine. Just because I don’t like what you’re saying doesn’t mean I don’t understand it!” He snapped, the words escaping him before he could think. “You really don’t get it, do you? You really don’t get that you being noble has something to do with this. And that’s the problem right there. You think this is just between the two of us, and it’s not.” He fell silent as Zuko continued, his eyes two blue flames, one reflected in the other. He didn’t know what Zuko meant, but he knew what he had seen on the streets and in homes. He didn’t know what Zuko’s life was like, fine. He had never even spoken to a nobleman, not more than a word or two, but he didn’t really think he needed to. He got the picture just fine from how they acted. “Fine, Zuko,” he said finally, and his voice was quieter this time. He could still feel his heart racing, but he forced himself to look Zuko in the eye anyway. “You’re right. I don’t know what your life is like. I really don’t. So just…stop. Just sit down before you hurt yourself, and tell me. What’s so bad about being a nobleman that I don’t get? We’re getting nowhere like this, and you’re about to fall over.”
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 5:51:01 GMT -5
“Why?” Zuko asked, the fire in his eyes not yet dying down. “So you can just tell me you don’t care? That the Skaa have it worse? Because frankly, I don’t care. I’m doing everything I can to give them something better, but I won’t lie and pretend that everything’s all fun and sunshine just because of who my father happens to be.” He let his fist clench and unclench as he tried to deal with the pain, not yet ready to get back on the bed. Not yet ready to let this argument go. It had given him something to hold onto. Something concrete. Something that didn’t feel like it was going to slip right away from him. “This right here, with the sword and the fact that you don’t know how to use a weapon? That’s between the two of us. Maybe the rest of it isn’t, but that is. And that’s all I’m talking about.” Finally, Zuko let his shoulders relax just a little bit. He didn’t want to sit down because that felt like conceding, and he didn’t agree with any of what Sal had said, but standing was getting more painful by the minute. He didn’t want to speak, either. He didn’t think Sal would listen or care, and there were things he wanted to keep to himself. Still… “There’s one thing we need to make clear,” he managed, trying to keep the edge from his voice, “I’m not a nobleman. Maybe I was, but I’m not anymore. And I’m not Skaa, so maybe I’m just… something else.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 19:43:54 GMT -5
“That’s not what I meant,” Sal retorted, but his heart wasn’t in the reply. It was the same argument they’d almost had before, and each time it had ended in tense silence, because no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t seem to see eye to eye. He didn’t know when they’d started talking about the way things were again. Maybe, for him, they’d always been talking about it. He didn’t know how to separate the two conversations in his head. He didn’t know how Zuko thought he could. “I don’t know who your father is,” he managed, choosing each word with care. “I don’t know if you’re a nobleman or what else you might be, but…look. You’re in pain and I don’t know how to use this thing. There’s no way this is ending well for either of us.” He held Zuko’s gaze for a long moment, then very slowly lowered the sword to his side again. It wasn’t ideal, but if this ended in a fight? He wasn’t sure which of them would come out the worse for it. “I’m going to go for a walk. If you’re gone when I get back…then I guess that’s it. If not, we can figure this out then. Deal?”
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 20:02:22 GMT -5
“I know what you meant,” Zuko replied after a long moment, trying to calm his rage. It wasn’t really rage, it was more like… condensed frustration. Neither of them knew what they were doing here, and neither of them actually wanted to hurt the other. It was… complicated. Zuko didn’t want to be noble anymore. He didn’t know if he was or not, he just knew that it hurt too much to believe his father had created all of this. Who was he for wanting to go home? Not someone worth knowing, that was for sure. He let out a breath, crossing his arms over his chest as he pushed away from the wall. He didn’t try for the door again, just watched as Sal left. What would Sal do if he had known he had the Lord Ruler’s son? What would he do if he knew he had the person who might take over the throne if things went how Zuko wanted them to? Would he kill him on the spot? Zuko waited until Sal was gone to move. He could leave. It would be simple - all he would have to do was walk out the door and he could wash his hands of the entire situation. He would find a new lead on the Survivor and he would find his way home that way. That was the smart decision. Anyone else in his family would have managed to get the Survivor’s location out of Sal… Azula would have manipulated or tortured him. Iroh would have given him tea and made him feel safe talking. Ozai would have done it with pure intimidation. Zuko was the only one who couldn’t get anything from the other boy except an acerbic wit. Finally, Zuko lowered himself back on the bed, straightening out his leg as best he could. They were never going to be able to figure this out. Still… staying felt like the only path that didn’t plunge him into immediate darkness.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 20:17:04 GMT -5
- Sal hadn’t known where he was planning to go when he’d walked out. He’d just needed to clear his head, and he’d needed to get away from Zuko before he dug himself any further into whatever hole this was. He hadn’t meant to get so angry. Somehow, he doubted Zuko had, either. Maybe this was why no one was getting anywhere with the war…if two kids couldn’t even have a conversation without ending up nearly killing each other, how was anyone supposed to end this peacefully? He’d ended up using more of Zuko’s money on food. He’d almost gotten bandages too, but he was still hoping what they had would be enough to last until Zuko didn’t need it anymore. He’d taken the sword with him. He hadn’t even realized until he’d noticed people swerving to avoid him. He’d had to stash it to avoid drawing attention, but he retrieved it now, wiping ash from its hilt and blade. He stopped outside the door. If Zuko was gone…then that was probably for the best. He was probably gone. He’d made his opinion very clear. Sal opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him.
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 20:24:29 GMT -5
Zuko wasn’t sure when or if Sal was ever coming back. If he had discovered something about Zuko, he likely could have found some authority to take care of him. To make sure he couldn’t be mingling with Skaa. To kill him. The thought flitted across Zuko’s expression for a long moment before he flicked it away in irritation. It wouldn’t be in Sal’s best interest to bring an Obligator or Inquisitor here. It would make them wonder how he was living on his own. It would make them wonder why this Skaa boy was of interest to someone so important. No, Sal hadn’t gone to get any sort of authority. Unless he’d left to recruit the Survivor himself to kill Zuko… It wasn’t easy to be left entirely alone with his thoughts. It took a long time for Zuko’s anger to temper itself, but when it had he limped forward to pick up the second sword. Sal had left it lying there in his haste to get out, and though one sword wasn’t nearly as useful without its twin, it would have to work. Zuko made his way back to the bed, half collapsing onto it once he was close enough. The rope from his hands wasn’t very long, but it was long enough. Painstakingly, he began to wrap it around the blade of the second sword. If Sal didn’t want to hold a weapon, fine. Maybe one that couldn’t actually do much harm would be better. And if he still didn’t want to… then fine. Let him die, for all Zuko cared.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 20:36:10 GMT -5
Sal didn’t know if he wanted to use the swords. The conversation - if it could really be called that - had spiraled away from that too fast for either of them to really talk about it. It hadn’t occurred to him to try and get someone to take care of Zuko. He was technically a criminal, even if he wasn’t an important one, and approaching an Obligator would have been more likely to hurt him than Zuko. An Inquisitor probably wouldn’t have bothered to say hi before it killed him. He closed the door behind him, half expecting to turn and find himself alone, or to find someone waiting there to ambush him. Could Zuko have gotten help that fast…? “Oh,” he said quietly as his eyes landed on Zuko, sitting right where he’d been every other time Sal had returned. He hadn’t left. For some reason…he actually hadn’t. He took in the sword and the rope for a long moment before he looked up to search Zuko’s face instead. “You’re still here.”
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 20:41:24 GMT -5
“If you want me to go, I can,” Zuko replied carefully, not looking up at Sal. He figured if he let himself get too invested in this conversation, it would just turn into another fight, and he was fairly certain that neither of them wanted that. They both just… believed so strongly about it. They didn’t want the Skaa to keep dying. They had been raised so differently… how was it possible they could even see the other as human? The Skaa had been taught from birth that the nobility were monsters, that they would just as soon kill you as ignore you. That they pretended they were gods. The nobility had been taught that Skaa were beasts, no more intelligent than the cows that produced their milk. It was a miracle the two of them had even managed to talk. He thought of saying more, but seemed to think better of it. His impulse was only going to make things worse, anyway. He could say he was only there because Sal was his key to the Survivor, but he didn’t know how true that was anymore. He didn’t know why he was here.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 20:49:39 GMT -5
Sal could tell Zuko was trying not to say anything antagonistic here. Because, whether they liked it or not…it seemed they were both on thin ice here. Even a well meaning comment could probably spiral into something neither of them wanted. He edged a little further into the room, gingerly setting the sword and the food down before he replied. “No, that’s…it’s fine,” he said at last, choosing his words with care. “I’m just…surprised. That’s all.” He watched him for a long moment, eyeing the sword and trying to decide whether he should ask. He didn’t know what wrapping it in rope would accomplish, but apparently Zuko thought it would be good for something. He moved to put the food away instead. He wasn’t going to risk another fight by asking.
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 20:55:36 GMT -5
Zuko cast a glance at the food, his stomach grumbling unhelpfully. He didn’t want to take the food, especially knowing how little Sal usually got on a normal day. Whether it was Zuko’s money or not, feeding two people was much harder than just feeding one. He swallowed, trying to avoid mentioning it. He didn’t know if Sal had already spent all of his money or if there was some left, but he wasn’t going to ask. It wasn’t like it mattered, anyway> He was never going to see that money again, even if Sal still had any of it in his possession. Instead, he focused on the sidelong glance Sal had sent at the sword. That was easy enough to answer, though the wrong answer could still set off some kind of avalanche. If it happened again, would they both be buried? “When I first learned, my master used blunted swords.” Zuko’s golden gaze flickered up to meet Sal’s. “I know I’m still noble. I know you don’t trust me. But the offer is still open.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 21:08:17 GMT -5
There was a little money left, but not much. Probably not enough for Zuko to want it back, though Sal wasn’t going to say that. Until Zuko could walk again, it didn’t matter, anyway. They both needed it to survive, and Sal was the one who could actually use it. He hesitated as Zuko spoke, turning slowly to face him again. So that was what the rope was for. He searched Zuko’s eyes for a long moment, trying to find a way to reply that wouldn’t upset whatever balance they were managing here. “I guess…that’s a little better,” he managed finally, looking away again. “If you really still want to show me…then…fine. What I said before…” He stopped, swallowing the words. He had no idea how to navigate that conversation yet. It was probably best to just take one step at a time here. “I know I don’t know what your life is like,” he said finally. “But, uh…blunted swords…that’s good.”
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 21:17:36 GMT -5
Zuko hesitated for a long moment, then set the sword down by the side of the bed. He didn’t want to push it on Sal if that wasn’t what the other boy wanted. He just… knew how cruel the world could be. He knew that he wouldn’t have survived without the sword, and there was something deep down in him that didn’t want Sal to die. It wasn’t just connected with the Survivor. It was… something else. The knowledge that they were similar, somehow, in spite of every reason they had to see each other as enemies. “What do you know of the nobility?” Zuko asked after a moment, still not daring to look at Sal. He didn’t know what he was doing by asking the question, but he couldn’t push down his curiosity. He knew what he understood of the nobility, but based on everything Sal had said… he knew as little of Zuko’s world as he’d known of Sal’s before he’d been forced into it. “I’m uh… I’m genuinely asking, by the way,” he added, cheeks growing red.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 21:33:04 GMT -5
Sal paused, eyes wary as he searched Zuko’s expression. He hadn’t expected the question…he wasn’t sure how to try to answer it. It seemed more likely to make them both angry again than anything else. “I don’t think you’d like my answer very much,” he said carefully, purposefully clipping the sarcasm from his reply. It was tempting to try and use it to deflate the tension here, but something told him that would backfire here. “I’m not…I’m not saying I know your people better than you,” he added quietly. Whether he did or not, it didn’t matter. Clearly they disagreed on that, too.
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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 21:38:54 GMT -5
“Maybe I want to hear it anyway,” Zuko replied, doing his best to keep his tone even. He didn’t want to upset Sal and he didn’t want to set either of them off again, but… it was an answer he needed to know if he was going to figure out how to navigate this. Sal had said they were going to figure this out, hadn’t he? “I just… I had a lot of ideas about the Skaa before I met any. And… and I may not care about proving you to you that I’m not some monster, I guess… I’d rather just know.” Did Sal think the nobility’s cruelty only extended to the Skaa? Something uncomfortable squirmed in Zuko’s chest. How much had his father ruined? How carefully had he plotted so that nobody could ever take over for him unless they had his express permission and therefore tutelage? I don’t want to be my father, his heart screamed, but he silenced it. If that was what it took, he would become anyone he had to be.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 21:50:15 GMT -5
Sal swallowed the reply raising its head in his throat, taking a minute to let it fade before he looked up again. He didn’t want to fight, and neither did Zuko. But they would if they didn’t take this very slowly. “Okay, then. Well…I know what I’ve seen,” he said slowly. “I know what I grew up with. So…I know it doesn’t really matter to…them…if we live or die. I know seeing anyone older than their thirties or forties is rare, because that’s when people get too weak to work. And I know how many Houses have a death toll for the people working under them.” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking away. Hopefully, he hadn’t just made this worse.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 22:06:58 GMT -5
Sal breathed out, not quite looking at Zuko. He didn’t know what he hoped to get out of this conversation. He didn’t even know if there was anything he could get out of it, besides getting angry again. “Look…you were right, before,” he said finally, keeping his voice as even as he could. “I didn’t mean to sound like…you’re not human or something. I just meant…” He shook his head a little, breathing out quietly. He noticed the way Zuko’s reached for his scar, but he didn’t point it out to him. He recognized the gesture, even if he didn’t tend to do it. “That’s what I don’t get,” he tried again. “You don’t have to tell me what happened, it’s fine, but I don’t get it. Because…well, you’re richer than I am, but not by much. And you talk like you don’t even want to be a part of that, and you got angry about my mom, and…I don’t get it. I really don’t.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 22:35:15 GMT -5
“I probably… deserved it,” Zuko replied after a moment, staring at the ground for a long moment. He took in a deep breath, shoulders tensing as he looked away from Sal. “That’s how most of the nobility see Skaa, at least. You see them passing through the house, and they’re not supposed to say anything so that people don’t even notice they’re there.” There was a distinct bitterness in Zuko’s voice. He had tried to make friends with some of the Skaa kids in the house when he was younger, but they had all gotten in trouble. Some of them had died. It was a lesson Zuko had learned early. If he didn’t want his friends killed, he would stay away from Skaa kids. “I was… in a meeting about policy and defense,” Zuko said after a moment, voice hard. “They wanted to increase the mass executions by just… rounding up Skaa. Not even Skaa that had broken the law, just…” he broke off, not fully certain why he was telling this Skaa boy the truth. He didn’t owe him an explanation. Somehow, he wanted to give one. “I spoke out. And I was banished.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 12, 2022 22:51:58 GMT -5
Sal listened, startled as Zuko actually began to explain. He hadn’t expected that, somehow. He hadn’t expected any of this, though, so that probably went without saying. He could imagine it. It seemed like something they’d decide to do, though…the fact that a new policy like that could easily kill him sent a small chill through him. He wasn’t exactly safe on the streets, but his biggest threat was either starving or getting caught stealing. Somehow, neither of those were quite as frightening as the idea of being tracked down just to be killed. “You…” he whispered, unable to keep the surprise from his voice. He could picture the meeting, but someone actually speaking out against it? A nobleman actually thinking those lives were worth protecting? That was harder to imagine. Then again…it wasn’t as though most Houses were in a position to make policies like that in the first place. “Which House was it?” He asked quietly, searching his expression. It had to be much higher than he’d assumed. Zuko had to be a lot more important than he’d guessed to have been allowed in at all.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 12, 2022 23:48:09 GMT -5
Zuko blinked, eyes widening a little bit at the question. He hadn’t expected it. Why would Sal care which House it was if all of them were equally as terrible? If none of them would question it? Zuko knew that all of the Houses would be okay with it. Many of them would be excited for it. They would see it as an afternoon’s entertainment, and they wouldn’t necessarily consider the Skaa who had been pulled from the streets. They would be touted as criminals, surely. “It doesn’t matter. What I said didn’t do any good,” Zuko shrugged, staring at the ground instead of looking at Sal. “And honestly, for all you know, I could be lying about it anyway. You have no reason to trust me.” He glanced at Sal for a long moment, wondering if perhaps he shouldn’t have said what he did. Perhaps he should have just left. “But… yeah, I guess I never learned my lesson. I still think your lives have value.” He gave a hard smile, shaking his head just a little as he stared at the door.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Feb 13, 2022 0:16:40 GMT -5
“I know you could be lying,” Sal replied, swallowing the edge back from it as much as he could. “And I know you might just be playing me to get at the Survivor. But…I don’t know. Maybe I don’t think you are.” He had no reason to trust Zuko. Zuko had no reason to trust him, either. But if he thought Zuko could be telling the truth about this…was that trust? Sal didn’t think it was. “I’m just wondering because I didn’t think the Houses were allowed to have meetings like that. I sort of thought that all came from the top. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong about that.” He gave a small half shrug, looking away. “Besides…maybe it did more good than you think. I mean…I haven’t seen any roundups happen. Have you?”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Feb 13, 2022 0:37:37 GMT -5
“Oh,” Zuko replied, wincing a little as he realized how much of himself he had accidentally given away. It wasn’t that he regretted it, it was just… he hadn’t anticipated giving Sal that much information right off the bat. It was the kind of information that could easily get him killed if Sal informed the wrong people. There was a reason Iroh had kept him mostly hidden immediately after his exile. “I mean… yeah, it’s not a thing that most Houses are allowed to do on their own. But when the Steel Ministry and the Lord Ruler organize it, a lot of Houses get invitations. And I… I begged my uncle to let me go in, so I could prepare to inherit my father’s position, eventually.” He hung his head, wishing he hadn’t finished wrapping the sword with rope. He needed something to do with his hands, and picking at the ripped skin on his wrists from where he’d broken out of the rope was probably… not the best thing he had ever done. “I don’t know,” he added after a moment. “I think… maybe they figured they’d try it somewhere other than Luthadel at first. I don’t believe they just scrapped the idea.”
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