FOR HONOR.

she's careful, almost too much so. fingertips barely brushing against the shell of his ear, the nape of his neck. it's a shame that she doesn't have any of her combs or beads, but maybe there would be other opportunities to decorate zuko's silken hair in the styles of her tribe. she shifts to rest on her knees, giving herself a slightly better perspective as she cards her fingers along his scalp, calculated & soothing, beginning to part his hair into sections.

❝ we don't have to talk, if you don't want to. ❞ she answers with a shrug, a lilt of amusement underscoring the words. it doesn't escape her notice that he's starting to ramble. truthfully, she wouldn't mind enjoying this gentle moment with zuko in silence. but there's something so endearing about his apparent uncertainty, the words stumbling over his lips. she kind of wants to keep him talking, just to see if he continues to squirm. surely there's nothing wrong with that.

his major is for his family, who is practically politics royalty due to generations of politicians but the minor is what he really loves.

+ he always has a little sketchbook on him and a pencil so he can always doodle / sketch while he’s out and about. when it’s warm, he’s usually outside doing the majority of his art while he prefers to sit in the windows of cafes and people watch and sketch that during the colder months. he goes through multiple sketchbooks every season.

+ he rarely speaks about his father and his political affiliation if he can help it.

+ he spends the free time he does have outside of school + art / plays helping his uncle in his tea shop. he doesn’t really like working the register since he’s not the best at small talk but he finds joy in bringing out the tea, cleaning, and making sure everything is organized and neat behind the counter. he leaves the fraternizing to his uncle.

+ he applies to be an RA in the dorms after his sophomore year so he doesn’t have to live at home as he prefers staying on campus with everyone.

there is no image of zuko's mother in her mind, but katara tries to conjure one anyway. at least a silhouette of this woman, faceless though she may be. no matter their element, a mother was a mother - someone who cared for & shielded her children. sometimes even at an impossibly high cost. it's a sentiment that katara herself is far too familiar with. she watches in silence as a few stray tears fall from zuko's eyes, & she swallows down the instinct to reach out & wipe them away.

❛ i'm always honest with you and all you ever do is call me stupid ! ❜ his voice is loud, full of rage and exhaustion as he looked at her. ❛ not all of us can be this... this unfeeling robot running the fire nation. that's exactly how my family got into this mess in the first place. no feelings, no passion, no... nothing ! and you're just like them and azula. just walking around always being right and never having any feelings or mistakes or anything on any matters. ❜ he grips the chair's arm rest, vision blurred with anger that he wills away. ❛ what you want from me will never happen because i like to feel things and be passionate and care about people. i know that's a foreign concept for you since you're so used to be cold but i'll never be like that and i don't think that makes me stupid !! ❜ he huffs out the last of his words with so much anger he's surprised that no flames are engulfing him now. he feels like he could set the whole room ablaze and as he's staring at her, the words that had spilled from his mouth settling before them he's taken back to a different time when similar words were spilt.

his eye widens at the scrolls before he squints to get a better view. this was something he had been thinking about for a long time, since he took over. it was something he remembered brought him peace with his mother and it was something he knew that even the most stubborn citizen could get behind. the arts was something that zuko knew could bring people together from all walks of life. ❛ is love amongst dragons there ? ❜ he tries to sound casual, as if the comment is an afterthought but his voice betrays him. he goes up an octave, excited at the thought that for the first time maybe ever he would be able to see the play in all of its glory and not the horrible rendition from his childhood.

☽ ⋮  MEME ;     DISCOVERIES!  

@fyrbends said : sender discovers receiver crying alone.

Every so often , when the days quiet and the world finally falls still , a crack begins to form. Not quite as often as the playful jests of friends and family ( or a certain anonymous playwright ) would have one believe... but the times certainly do come , even so. When the once peaceful stillness in the air turns , becoming thick enough to choke on. When the weight of the world feels less like a familiar companion , a lifelong challenge to be conquered even , and more like a flood fighting fiercely to remain kept safely at bay.

It’s under the cover of night that she allows the dam to break. To fracture and spread slowly with each measured step that carries her further from wooden floor and stone path to the relief of soft earth beneath her feet , a shroud of protection offered by dimly moonlit trees above. A deliberate retreat from all too sharp ears and the confines of echoing walls to the privacy of the dark , open air -- where the selfishness to break need not be explained or forgiven.

She doesn't scream. Doesn't wail. Doesn't keen... but the first strangled sob that finally tears itself free from Katara's throat shatters the stillness all the same. Long-threatening tears fall freely as she crouches low , curling inward with shaking shoulders and fingers steepled bitterly over her face. Her own cries feel defeaning in the surrounding silence , an echoed cacophony of harsh gasps and broken sobs smothered behind the palms of her hands. Nearly loud enough to drown out the 'shff' of an approaching step on the path behind. Nearly.

Shock compels Katara to turn before she can think the better of it , meeting Zuko wide-eyed and tear stricken , frozen in place while the initial relief of familiarity fades under the dawning horror of being found. Of being found like this. Breath caught , her chest seizes with an almost instinctual surge of panic and she quickly turns away from him again , fingertips brushing harshly against her cheeks as she stands.

he wants to offer her any comfort he can but he stops short when he sees her. the way her body is curled in on itself, the shaking of her body; he knows what he's interrupted. he feels his body flush with embarrassment at seeing katara like this and knowing that she used the cover of the night to conceal her emotions. he's no stranger to letting the night sky hear his pain and it's this reasoning that he's trying to turn around and leave. he stumbles in his haste to get away and ember eyes meet her wide blue ones in the dark. he opens his mouth to apologize, his feet taking him a further step back when he hears the harshness of her tone.