towerofanimus | Wave 1 (OPEN)

Entry tags:

Wave 1 (OPEN)

Characters: Tahno and anyone! (Open~)
Setting: Dormitory Hallway, Floor 10
Format: Prose to start, but I'll match you!
Summary: This stupid collar is really stressing poor Tahno out. Luckily, all of the bendable water in the aquarium is pretty relaxing.
Warnings: None to start, but he might be a bit of a jerk to you (or hit on you), depending on who you are and what you do. Possible swearing, too.

(Dorm Hallway)

This stupid collar on his neck was driving him crazy. He’d barely been awake for twenty minutes, and he already hated this place. What kind of place put collars on their residents? He had every intention of going to the bathroom to get a better look at it, but he only got halfway there before he felt the liquid flowing through the collar.

Well, he could walk all the way to the bathroom just to stare at it, or he could just stop here and bend the thing off.

At least, that was the plan. The liquid inside was bendable alright, but it didn’t help him. He’d spent the last few minutes trying to yank the liquid hard enough to burst through the collar, but it just wouldn’t.

Now, he was leaning back against the wall, both hands hovering inches in front of his neck as he tried desperately to damage the collar from within. His face was red, and his hands were practically white from the strain.

Man, he must’ve looked like an idiot to any passersby.

(Floor 10)

After all of that effort on a stupid collar got him absolutely nowhere, he was feeling a bit frustrated. Maybe even a bit inadequate, seeing as his bending couldn’t break such a simple little thing. He had set off exploring just to take his mind off it. He had taken the elevator down to the first floor, and then gone up. Most of the floors didn’t really appeal to him.

That was, until he found the tenth floor.

All that water was beautiful.

…The fish were nice too, but he really didn’t care about those.

It had only taken him ten seconds to discover that, despite being held in place by some weird mystical force, the water could still be bent. He’d just have to put it back in the weird no-glass tanks when he was done.

A few minutes later, and he was dancing with the water like he did at home. He could hear the roar of the crowd, feel the lights that covered the stadium, taste the enemy attacks flying by him, and oh it felt good.

The only problem was that he was showing a blatant disregard for the poor fish in the water. And maybe even himself, should anything dangerous find its way into his flying river or water balls.

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Well, that was rather shocking. So shocking, in fact, that he nearly launched all the water at the woman who had crept up on him. Luckily, he was able to keep it together and simply leave the water shivering in the air.

"I hardly think a waterbender has much to fear from a stupid fish."

He spent a few seconds scanning the princess with his eyes. She looked familiar, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why that was. Maybe it was just the outfit. It looked a little old fashioned, but he knew that it resembled clothing from the Fire Nation. He pushed all the water back into the tanks, deciding it was tiresome to hold it up.

"Fire Nation, I presume?" He asked her, approaching with a coy smile.

Azula watched impassively as the water came toward her, arms folded lightly. She knew she could easily block it, but left it to just the last- oh, well, that's interesting. He had some control. That was... almost impressive.

At his question, she smiled and started to clap slowly. If there was an more sarcastic sound than that, it simply didn't exist. "Bravo. So you do have a brain."

He was a bit surprised that she didn't even flinch. Most people would. He wondered if she was a bender herself.

"Oh, you wound me with your words," he retorted. "Of course I've got a brain. I don't think I would've won the championship three years in a row without one."

"Championship? How quaint. I didn't know they were letting water benders in the Earth Rumble." She was looking at one of her nails, carefully examining it for a hangnail or something.

Honestly speaking, she was rather glad she wasn't the only bender here now, and he at least knew what the Fire Nation was. Now all she had to do was... test the waters, so to speak. See if he could be an ally or not.

"Earth rumble?" he scoffed. "That's a bit old-fashioned."

He couldn't help but laugh and shake his head at that.

"Where in the Fire Nation are you from? Or are you just not a fan of the radio? Or anything modern, for that matter? What sad place do you live in that you've never heard of the pro-bending champions; the Wolfbats?"

She wasn't smiling anymore. How dare this man speak to her like that? Her stance didn't change, nor did she drop her hands, but suddenly she looked quite dangerous.

"Obviously, the Wolfbats were never that important. And who are you, that you would speak to Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation in that manner?"

"Ah, that's it," he said, finally realizing who this girl reminded him of. "Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. You've got a really uncanny resemblance."

He looked her up and down, taking note of all the fine details of what he assumed was simply a costume of some sort.

"It's awfully kind of you to replicate her finer years. I'm sure she's hardly as beautiful at age... what is she now? In her eighties, is it?"

What. Replicate. She is not a replica! That just killed any ideas she had of making him an ally.

The look on her face grew cold.

"You'll find the resemblance is more than uncanny."

She moved too fast to see, one blink she was just standing there, the next there was a shot of blue fire sailing pass him, her arm stretched out and pointing two fingers in his direction.

He hadn't even seen her move. All he knew was that there was a big wall of blue fire passing by him, and he was scared shitless. He threw himself into the tank of the aquarium, a rather feminine scream escaping from him. He choked on the water and quickly flopped out of the tank and onto the floor, spitting out the liquid he had accidentally sucked into his mouth.

"Y-y-you're not--!"

He stopped and coughed a few times, trying to gather his thoughts. He didn't dare stand back up, or even look at her. He stayed on his knees in front of her, staring at the floor.

"You're actually-- You're Azula!"

Finally he looked up and saw the way she held her hand; with only two fingers pointing in his direction.

"How--? Why are you--? D-don't kill me! I'll... I'll give you whatever you want; just don't kill me!"

He pathetically fell down further, bowing and praying for her mercy.

If it hadn't been so completely sad, Azula would have laughed at his reaction. As it was, she simply folded her arms again and looked down at Tahno.

"That's better." Then the cold look broke and she rolled her eyes. "Get up- you look pathetic down there." Well, there was no helping that now. "The last thing I need is a weak willed water bender hanging around."

At her command, he quickly forced himself back onto his feet. Not too fond of being called pathetic, he thought maybe it'd be a good idea to stop looking like a wet dog. He bent all the water off of his body and shoved it back in the tanks before standing at attention, unsure of what else to do.

"H-h-how are you still...?"

He had to stop speaking, painfully aware of how hard his voice and his body was shaking. He swallowed and tried again.

"How are you still... you're supposed to be... They got you help. Years ago."

He whimpered, realizing that was probably a stupid thing to say to a crazy power-hungry princess.

Eyes narrowing, Azula analyzed what he said carefully.

If he were to be believed, apparently he was from the future? Ridiculous. But then...

"They got me help? You'd better explain yourself." Last time she checked, she was perfectly fine. Life back in the Fire Nation couldn't have been better. All their plans were falling into place. She didn't need help.

He was confused for a moment, but then realized his stupidity. Of course she wouldn't know what he was talking about if she was actually Azula and actually from the past.

"They... sent you to a, uh, hospital," he said gently, not wanting to set her off.

"Some people," he was sure to stress the word, "thought you were a bit insa... Cra... N-not well."

"I see..."

Of course. It made sense. But that... meant she had somehow failed, or did something. Did her father send her there? No... it had to be Iroh, or Zuko. Either one would have gladly done so, and she knew Zuko maintained she was crazy ever since they were kids.

A thoughtful cast tempered the look in her eyes, but it faded quickly. "Well, there's no use worrying about it now, regardless of how my brother and uncle feel about me. This place is enough to worry about." Her attention returned to him, and she tilted her head, getting some of the easy arrogance back from before. "I believe I asked you a question before. Who are you?"

He considered telling her about her downfall. About how Zuko and Katara had taken her down, and how her father had fallen to Avatar Aang.

But he decided not to because he really didn't want to see her reaction.

He straightened up at her question, though.

"Tahno, captain of the Wolfbats. Pro-bending champs three years running."

He realized a moment later that she probably didn't give a shit about any of that, but figured it might be worth mentioning anyway.

He wasn't a fire bender. He wasn't even Fire Nation, but she thought she could use him with the right persuasion.

She wasn't quite sure what pro-bending was, but if it was like the Earth Rumbles her spies had told her about, it would explain his level of skill. He wasn't the best water bender she had met, not by a long shot. That title belonged to Katara. But she could use him.

"Well, Tahno, I can tell you and I are going to become very good friends."

"...F-friends?" he asked.

Oh god, no. That was literally the worst thing that could happen. He knew all about her so-called 'friends' and how that had gone down.

Everything in his body said to run. Or fight. Or do something other than just stand here, but he was a coward at heart, and so he just remained still and tried to worm his way out of it with his words.

"Why on earth would you wanna be friends with a guy like me?"

"Because you and I are the only benders here, and if you listen to what I say, you just might survive."

Geez, Tahno, have you seen the monsters crawling around this place? That's why she's wearing her uniform today, too many bite marks on her leg.

"Of course, if you don't want to survive, enjoy waking up in your bed every morning worrying what nasty, mean, monster will get you." She widened her eyes a little in mock innocence. "I mean you've obviously just arrived." Smiling, she leaned in conspiratorially. "They smell fresh meat, you know."

He had a feeling that they were the only benders in the tower, but he had kept his hopes up until now. Even if he had heard a million times that Azula wasn't the most trustworthy person, he couldn't help but believe her.

"M-monsters?"

That was another thing he was told about just recently. He hadn't been afraid of them until now. If the Fire Lord's daughter was concerned about the beasts, what chance did he have?

"Ah, w-what kind of monsters, exactly? Like the stories they told us as kids? Spirits? Something else?"

He liked to think himself fearless, coming from the swamps filled with catgators and such, but he assumed these monsters were much more dangerous than one of those things.

Of course, she had no reason to lie; the truth was so much more satisfying, but there was business to be done.

She clasped her hands behind her back, as if she was going to give a speech to a squad of Fire Nation troopers. "There are many kinds of monsters in the Tower. They are unlike anything we have in the Four Kingdoms, so be on your guard at all times, and keep an eye on your surroundings. What you think may just be a statue could be a vicious creature. Even the shadows may try to attack you."

Edited 2012-12-03 20:27 (UTC)

He had to wonder what other dangerous creatures were lurking about. He'd seen quite a few interesting 'monsters' back at the swamp, but shadows? That sounded ridiculous. And terrifying.

...And yet she was scarier than any monster could ever be.

"Yeah, so you're offering protection. What's my end of the deal? What's in it for you? I doubt you'd waste your precious energy on me without putting me to use."

A small smile appeared. She was starting to like him, a little bit. Just a little.

"Having a waterbender on my side is a tactical advantage. I'll let you know if I need anything else."

Which might be sooner rather than later. She was getting rather tired of having her hair loose. He looked like he knew exactly what to do with hair.

"Tactical advantage to what?"

What was she going to do, take over the tower? He couldn't say he was against that, but she made it sound like he was being sent to fight in the war. Which he was certainly not cut out for.

"But, yeah, whatever else you want... just... yeah."

Not quite. Survival and intelligence were her first priorities, but he didn't need to know that yet.

"Good. First thing in the morning I want to go over your bending techniques." Her Uncle had always said the four were one and blah blah had much to learn. It was a good idea learning how waterbenders worked, just in case. "We'll go from there."

He wasn't sure why on earth she'd want to know about his bending techniques. They were probably shit compared to hers.

Maybe she wanted to help him improve?
...
He wasn't sure if that was awesome or horrifying. Maybe both.

"Fine. Here, then?"

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always_lies - 2012-12-04 05:35 (UTC) - Expand

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wolfbat_captain - 2012-12-05 05:11 (UTC) - Expand

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Wave 1 (OPEN)

Re: Floor 10

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