Well, that's good, but I never would have known. Since you didn't ever tell me. ( she's snippy at first, but quiets before she speaks again. her feelings are hurt. ) You forgot.
I just lost track of time. I had to look after Mako's thing and I had to do something for Mor — uh. [ lets keep that on the down low. the less the people he cares about know, the better. ] There was the moon ... [ this is just making it sound worse. nothing he's been up to in the past month really excuses him not calling her to inform her he'd made it to caer glaem with all ten fingers, all ten toes, and still very little sense. ]
[ he sighs, his tone dropping slightly. ] I'm sorry. I'm not used to having to check in with anyone.
So... You forgot. ( she understands, the whole moon thing, but... would it have killed him to just say 'hey i made it'? cassie sighs and tries not to be too bothered. but he's like the only really close-ish friend she has here. sort of. they're not really close but they're closer than anybody else and he reminds her of what it might be like to miss her friends from chance harbor. who... she really does miss. ) When are you coming back?
[ he's going to stop trying to convince her otherwise. she knows the truth, even if he wishes to spin it for himself. ]
I don't know. [ it makes him uncomfortable not knowing when he'll return. his silver token will work for thirty days, and he knows he's coming close to his deadline of being able to use it. walking the distance from caer glaem to caer scima — or even to a fairy ring in caer glaem — is a thought that fills him with dread. ] I was meant to go on a trip, but I think it's been postponed.
I think they'll want me to stay here for a while ... [ he wouldn't put it past them to try and do an aang, tricking him into staying as the thought of him being in caer scima may unsettle those from his future. do they look at him and see an enemy? he doubts it. why would mako leave him with rizhao? ]
( cassie sighs audibly, makes a small groan through her nose. or maybe it's a whine. the world may never know. there are a number of things she could say to all this, but most of them are selfish. she wants him to come back. she misses having him around. or she wants him to grant her permission to come find him. she might come find him anyway. effy is cool, kieren is cool, but zuko is someone she's really managed to relate to on some level and she's lonely. she's used to being a loner. or, she was, before she came to chance harbor. her friends aren't here with her and the few friends she's made in this godforsaken place are precious to her. )
.. Oh. ( what else can she say to that? it just feels like more distance. ) I - ... ( there's a pang of hurt in her voice. ) Okay. Well... ( she sighs again, because saying 'don't forget to write' or something is stupid and cliche and why would he remember her anyway. ) Okay.
[ zuko may come off as oblivious a hundred percent of the time, but he recognises he's misstepped. while he usually remains clueless as to where he has, he has a feeling he knows his answer to her question has upset her. but the truth is better than a lie. he has no idea when he's coming back. ]
Okay ... [ he doesn't sound very certain of himself. there's a long pause. he's unsure of where to go with this, if saying goodbye will upset her even more. leaving it on a note of her being displeased with him doesn't sit well with him. ]
What are you even doing over there? [ it's not the first time he's realised he has no idea what she does in her spare time. she likes surprises, blues and greys, witchy things, but he doesn't know much else. is it meant to be a surprise? or would she tell him if he could think up a good question? he's taken it for granted, knowing mai and ty lee for his entire life; he's just beginning to know aang, katara, toph, and sokka, and none of them are ever too keen to play twenty questions — except for aang and sokka. but what else is there to know about sokka other than he makes dumb jokes about meat? ]
[ his voice hardens, brows pinching, ] Are the imps giving you trouble?
Nothing. I'm bored out of my mind. ( she mutters, though she sounds more... lonely, than she does perturbed, at this point. she misses having him around. like a lot. ) The imps don't bother me, and I don't bother them. We have an understanding.
Really? They bother me all the time ... [ it's due to him letting them bug him. when one pokes zuko with a stick, he'll ignore them for a few seconds before imploding. ]
[ he's not really sure what to say. apart from suggesting she go shop at the station, there's really nothing to do when you're alone. though, zuko believes cassie has more friends than he does. he takes to his walks and exploring the lands, but there's nothing really here for him other than the guys from the future — and they're currently gone. ] Caer Glaem's kind of boring. It's like being back home. I know no one. [ but in the fire nation, they'd known him. he couldn't even go to mai's house across the street without being offered a ride upon cushions. ]
I might go see the moon. Apparently Sokka dated her once.
I think they figured out that making me mad probably isn't a great idea. Either that, or they know that I like being left alone, and if they don't want me bothering them back, they need to not bother me to start with. ( the pixies aren't really her issue. )
[ he's a little jealous he can't be simply left alone by the imps. but it's possibly due to how he had terrorised them first, burning them for throwing him in a sack just as toph had thrown rocks at them for the exact same reason that had them snickering and biting at him. ]
[ and in a very casual tone, ] I guess you could say that. Yue was a princess … and she did sacrifice herself for the Moon Spirit to pay it back for saving her life when she was younger. Sokka's always spoken about her as if she is the moon, and so did The Boy In the Iceberg.
[ he shrugs. ]
It might be Yue. Sokka would hate me if I didn't say hello from him.
[ though he isn't quite sure what a fairytale is, despite flicking through the grimms' book when at the station, he doesn't respond to her commentary on yue and sokka. it sounds a little … he doesn't want it to be him and mai, missing one another, being a one-time thing where he tears up and shushes those who talk when the play comes to perform the part where they say their final goodbyes. ]
[ but this feels like a goodbye, somewhat. he's quiet. ] No. [ he'd leave it at that, but it feels a little too sharp, even for him. it's easier for him to do tho at caer glaem, adding another location to his teleporting boon as he can easily move back and forth — and he's a little curious to see those from his future, too. often is he too disinterested in what is occurring around him that he can't quite pass put the opportunity to learn more about himself. ] There's something I have to do; I can't do it in Caer Scima.
( there's a tight squeeze in her chest an an accompanying formation of stone in her stomach. she doesn't want him to leave. she doesn't want him to get hurt. she doesn't want to not be able to make sure these things don't happen. it really does feel like goodbye, and that scares her. it hurts her. she has like.. two friends here. he's one of them, and she doesn't want to let him go so easily. it hurts, the way he says no, like he's tired of her trying to keep him near her. but... )
Come back to visit, at least. At some point. For me?
I'm coming back. [ he knows he doesn't belong here. caer glaem may be gold and bright and vibrant, following a code that speaks to him, but it isn't his home. he's a traitor walking through it's walls. he feels as he had when he had returned to the fire nation beneath azula's manipulative hands. out of place and sticky, his own flesh feels as clammy as a humid day even within the suite he's taken to. maybe, in some other life, he would've liked it here, but he truly doesn't. ]
I just have to do this thing or else ... [ he doesn't know what will happen, but it frightens him. he's dealt with this before, but instead of being threatened with being a disappointment, he had it burned into his face. his voice drops, defeated slightly, ] I may not have a place to come back to.
( at least he'll be here again. and the way he says he might not have a place to come back to is ominous enough that she can't argue with him. but she wishes she could help him, or be more than just the person he checks in with sometimes. cassie concedes, slowly. ) Please travel safely, then. And if you need anything -- you'll call. Right? Or if something happens, I can -- probably be wherever you're going pretty quick.
[ zuko won't call, even when he's in dire need of help. a part of him wishes to be self-punishing. a part of him simply doesn't know how to accept it. three years spent in exile, refusing to depend on anyone else as it had been his task to ensnare the avatar, hasn't taught him how to rely on others. it's a lesson he's beginning to learn, albeit slowly. ]
I'll be fine, though. I've been through worse. [ but the admission doesn't make him feel any better. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
audio.
[ ... who he forgot to check in with when he had been trying to check off his to-do list for the month. spirits. ]
Uh, I made it okay. All I had to do was use this silver token and I just appeared here. I don't think you can die using it ...
[ missing the point. ]
audio.
audio.
[ yes. ]
I just lost track of time. I had to look after Mako's thing and I had to do something for Mor — uh. [ lets keep that on the down low. the less the people he cares about know, the better. ] There was the moon ... [ this is just making it sound worse. nothing he's been up to in the past month really excuses him not calling her to inform her he'd made it to caer glaem with all ten fingers, all ten toes, and still very little sense. ]
[ he sighs, his tone dropping slightly. ] I'm sorry. I'm not used to having to check in with anyone.
audio.
audio.
I don't know. [ it makes him uncomfortable not knowing when he'll return. his silver token will work for thirty days, and he knows he's coming close to his deadline of being able to use it. walking the distance from caer glaem to caer scima — or even to a fairy ring in caer glaem — is a thought that fills him with dread. ] I was meant to go on a trip, but I think it's been postponed.
I think they'll want me to stay here for a while ... [ he wouldn't put it past them to try and do an aang, tricking him into staying as the thought of him being in caer scima may unsettle those from his future. do they look at him and see an enemy? he doubts it. why would mako leave him with rizhao? ]
audio.
.. Oh. ( what else can she say to that? it just feels like more distance. ) I - ... ( there's a pang of hurt in her voice. ) Okay. Well... ( she sighs again, because saying 'don't forget to write' or something is stupid and cliche and why would he remember her anyway. ) Okay.
audio.
Okay ... [ he doesn't sound very certain of himself. there's a long pause. he's unsure of where to go with this, if saying goodbye will upset her even more. leaving it on a note of her being displeased with him doesn't sit well with him. ]
What are you even doing over there? [ it's not the first time he's realised he has no idea what she does in her spare time. she likes surprises, blues and greys, witchy things, but he doesn't know much else. is it meant to be a surprise? or would she tell him if he could think up a good question? he's taken it for granted, knowing mai and ty lee for his entire life; he's just beginning to know aang, katara, toph, and sokka, and none of them are ever too keen to play twenty questions — except for aang and sokka. but what else is there to know about sokka other than he makes dumb jokes about meat? ]
[ his voice hardens, brows pinching, ] Are the imps giving you trouble?
audio.
audio.
[ he's not really sure what to say. apart from suggesting she go shop at the station, there's really nothing to do when you're alone. though, zuko believes cassie has more friends than he does. he takes to his walks and exploring the lands, but there's nothing really here for him other than the guys from the future — and they're currently gone. ] Caer Glaem's kind of boring. It's like being back home. I know no one. [ but in the fire nation, they'd known him. he couldn't even go to mai's house across the street without being offered a ride upon cushions. ]
I might go see the moon. Apparently Sokka dated her once.
audio.
Well, come back, then. ( she misses you :c )
Wait -- What? The moon's a person now?
audio.
[ and in a very casual tone, ] I guess you could say that. Yue was a princess … and she did sacrifice herself for the Moon Spirit to pay it back for saving her life when she was younger. Sokka's always spoken about her as if she is the moon, and so did The Boy In the Iceberg.
[ he shrugs. ]
It might be Yue. Sokka would hate me if I didn't say hello from him.
audio.
That sounds like a fairytale. ( then she realizes how ridiculous that sounded given their current location. ) - No pun intended.
I'm not going to be able to convince you to stay, am I?
audio.
[ but this feels like a goodbye, somewhat. he's quiet. ] No. [ he'd leave it at that, but it feels a little too sharp, even for him. it's easier for him to do tho at caer glaem, adding another location to his teleporting boon as he can easily move back and forth — and he's a little curious to see those from his future, too. often is he too disinterested in what is occurring around him that he can't quite pass put the opportunity to learn more about himself. ] There's something I have to do; I can't do it in Caer Scima.
audio.
Come back to visit, at least. At some point. For me?
audio.
I just have to do this thing or else ... [ he doesn't know what will happen, but it frightens him. he's dealt with this before, but instead of being threatened with being a disappointment, he had it burned into his face. his voice drops, defeated slightly, ] I may not have a place to come back to.
audio.
audio.
[ zuko won't call, even when he's in dire need of help. a part of him wishes to be self-punishing. a part of him simply doesn't know how to accept it. three years spent in exile, refusing to depend on anyone else as it had been his task to ensnare the avatar, hasn't taught him how to rely on others. it's a lesson he's beginning to learn, albeit slowly. ]
I'll be fine, though. I've been through worse. [ but the admission doesn't make him feel any better. ]