001☀ → v i d e o ;

[scalded]

[ By the looks of the scenery his device is focused on, Zuko's arrived smack-dab in the middle of the forest. There's the sounds of wildlife carrying as it all catches on the feed, rays of sunlight streaming through the towering branches overhead. The camera goes in and out of focus as he moves around off-screen, turning this way and that, and he can be heard muttering to himself rather grouchily. ]

--was so close! [ A sound of frustration, a grunt. Leaves and ground give way beneath his stomping steps. This firebender has no idea where the hell he's going. All he knows is that he's here - wherever here is - and he has to get back. ]

This is ridiculous! Stupid!

[ The device tilts and along with it goes the world around him. Briefly the camera catches on dark shaggy hair and a grisly scar marring the left side of his face, all set against pale skin. ]

Where am I?! And why am I here?!

[ This was the last place he expected to find himself after opening the door of the chamber in which his father had been hiding during the eclipse. But it's not like anyone's listening - that he knows of. ]

Comments

[anatural]

[Naga does, mostly so she can get a better grip on the struggling human. She doesn't let him down for long, but it should be long enough for him to scramble onto her back.

Or he can try to run, but she'll just chase.]

[scalded]

[ Feeling the way her jaw relaxes, Zuko pulls himself free. He staggers once he finds his footing and finds himself hunched forward with a hand rubbing his bruised and delicate backside. Ouch. A glance to Naga's face and then to her back has him wondering if maybe he can climb on to make the ride easier (but ride to where?). Or make a run for it, as she might be able to suspect by the way his eyes dart away to do a fleeting calculation of his surroundings.

Unless he scaled a tree and moved through the treetops to escape, he was literally a sitting duck with this beast. Which is why very last minute he bolts for the nearest tree.

Like his life depends on it. ]

[anatural]

[OH YOU DID NOT JUST. Zuko. Honey. You do not try to outrun a semi-wild predator. You just don't.

Naga thwacks him -- gently, but still pretty painful -- and is quite prepared to pick him up by his shirt again.

They're only a few more minutes away from Korra; STOP MAKING THIS HARD.]

[scalded]

[ He's thwacked. And up he goes in his small moment of distraction from the pain, shirt back in Naga's teeth. Zuko tries to dig his feet into the ground, squirming. ]

Can't you just put me on your back? [ Or something. ]

[anatural]

[It's cute how you think she speaks human, Zuko. Korra's taught her a few basic commands, but overall, people talking sounds like just a bunch of goobledegook to her.

She growls another warning at his struggling and resumes a steady trot to the Beach House. Another two minutes, prince. No worries.]

[scalded]

[ Well that didn't work. What was he thinking? Clearly Naga doesn't understand him, what a fool he must look trying to talk to an animal (turtleducks excluded). Letting out a heavy sigh of resignation he keeps his legs tucked up against himself, trying to keep his body angled away from anymore bumpy encounters along the way. ]

[anatural]

[Korra's sitting in front of the Beach House, trying and failing to practice her meditation. Jinora being gone is no excuse to go lax in her training, after all.

Still, she's secretly grateful when she catches the familiar tread of Naga's footsteps. Maybe now that Naga's back, the two of them can go play in the water (since she's not allowed to go swimming alone and she doesn't want to bother anyone else in the house). She opens her eyes and is very surprised to find Naga carrying a person in her mouth.]

NAGA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

[It takes way too much effort to push herself onto her feet, and she finds herself hobbling disgracefully towards the polar bear dog and her hapless victim.]

Put him down!

[scalded]

[ Zuko jolts at the voice, head jerking up to see who's talking. He suppresses the grimace as his head knocks with Naga's snout and squints forward. Tanned skin, dark hair, clear blue eyes. Water Tribe? Oh, that's just great. Exactly what he needs. How is he going to get himself out of this one? This girl isn't Katara, he knows what she looks like, how she sounds; he needs to find the Avatar and his band of lackeys. ]

You heard her- put me down.

[ He's relieved though to find he was brought to a human and not to a nest of starving babies. ]

[anatural]

[Naga drops Zuko unceremoniously and wags her tail, a little hesitant. Why does Korra seem upset? She brought a friend!

Korra is a little out of breath simply from pain by the time she reaches Zuko. She'd offer a hand to help him up, but any extra pressure and she just knows either her shoulder or her leg is going to give out on her.]

Are you okay?

[She hasn't yet noticed the scar.]

[scalded]

[ He grunts when he's dumped on the ground but slowly pushes himself up to his feet. Again he rubs a hand on his backside, rotating his shoulders once he's straightened up; he can't complain, he's been in worse situations before. ]

... never been better.

[ She's closer now. Zuko narrows his eyes as he looks her in the face. And then gestures to Naga. ]

You know this animal?

[anatural]

Her name is Naga! [More than a little defensive. Then Korra gets a good look at his face, and all the air leaves her lungs.]

Fire Lord Zuko?

[It comes out as a question, but it's not. She's had too many visions of Aang's youth and his encounters with the banished prince. She might not be able to really connect with Aang, but she feels like she knows Zuko as well as any of her friends. It's not even weird to her how young he is.]

I can't believe you're here!

[WHY YES HELLO THAT IS A HUG YOU'RE GETTING.]

[scalded]

[ A surprised squawk escapes him as he's grabbed up in surprisingly strong arms that contrast the softness of her cheek against his jaw. Her arms feel like they're squeezing the life out of him-- why is she hugging him to begin with?! He's never met her before in his entire life. They're not friends or even acquaintances.

Zuko's too surprised by the unexpected embrace that he just stands within it, stiff as a board. It takes him a moment to find his tongue again. ]

N-not Fire Lord-- it's Zuko.

[anatural]

Right! Sorry! [She lets him go and steps back, her grin abashed but bright.] It's so great to really meet you.

[lawbender]

[ Lin is arriving home from work when she comes across Korra providing an awkward hug to a shaggy-haired boy. How she had found a new boyfriend while she was in the hospital, Lin had no idea. ]

Who's this?

[ From the angle of approach, she can only see the back of Zuko's head. ]

[scalded]

Uh- thanks?

[ Zuko turns just slightly at the sound of someone approaching to look over his shoulder. They must know each other, he assumes, turning then to fully face the woman since she's asking. ]

[anatural]

[NEW BOYFRIEND?!? SCREAM. It's a good thing Korra doesn't know Lin's thinking that.]

Chief! This is Fire Lord Zuko! Sorry, just Zuko. [She grins, a little giddy.] He's from the past.

[lawbender]

What? [ Lin's brow furrows with shock. Of course, the scar is impossible to mistake, but he looks like a teenager! Is a teenager. How--

This City. She will never understand it. Never ever.

This is weirdly awkward. She's not sure how much deference to give him. This may even be Zuko from before his ascension to the throne. She's never even seen a portrait of him this young. She bows awkwardly. ]

Lin Bei Fong. It is a... surprise to see you, Fire Lord Zuko.

[ She's not sure she can drop the honorific so easily. ]

[scalded]

[ One; the tan-skinned girl obviously knows the big animal. No need for her to respond to him. And two; this older woman is bowing to him and seems more in shock than the other by seeing him. Why? And why is she being called Chief? Chief of what? ]

--uh.

[ Zuko looks from Lin to Korra and then back to Lin, unsure of what to say. He stands exactly where he is, his eyes following her awkward movements.

Things gradually try to click into place. He's from the past. ]

I'm not fire lord. [ Not yet. ] Call me Zuko.

[anatural]

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! [Yeah, okay, she may be fangirling a bit.]

[lawbender]

[ Lin finds all the cheer disconcerting. ] Can I believe that the City kidnapped someone else that we happen to know? Unfortunately, yes.

[scalded]

[ Zuko is finding this entire situation disconcerting. Again he's looking between the two women. ]

Hang on - you know me or know of me?

[ Zuko doesn't know how his future self would know the overly energetic woman. And this 'Chief', if she's chief of something particularly important, Zuko can see how he'd know her. ]

[anatural]

Ahahaha... [Korra laughs and scratches the back of her neck.]

Both, kind of? I'm Korra. [She bows respectfully] I'm the Avatar.

[lawbender]

And I am Lin Bei Fong, chief of Republic City's police force. [ She has already bowed once, so she simply inclines her head respectfully for a moment. ] We've met. You were good friends with my mother, as I understand.

[scalded]

[ Chief of a police force. Now he understood. But let's back it up a second here.

Zuko stares at Korra, good brow shooting up to disappear beneath his bangs. He's in disbelief because there's only one Avatar and as far as he knows or is concerned, it's Aang. ]

But- [ Tripping over his words here. ] -you're a girl. Where's the real Avatar? Where's Aang?

[anatural]

[OUCH. Intellectually, Korra understands why he would ask that. But it still stings a lot and touches on all her insecurities.]

I am the real Avatar! I'm Avatar Aang's successor. [She mostly managed not to sound defensive when she said that, but more than a little petulance comes through when she adds] Future, remember?