Backdated like whoa.

[burnedbrighter]

Who: Azula, Open to District 5
What: A walk down nostalgia lane as Azula visits her home.
Where: District 5
When: During the tours
notes: Nothing yet but Azula's involved so expect drug use and possible violence or mentions of.

The Day had finally come.

Dispatching with the formalities, the parties, the tours. Azula could reasonably avoid it no longer.

The wrought iron gate slid open allowing them entrance to the front walkway. The two story house was long and proud. The sort of mini mansion that was meant to be seen and admired. A fine solid roof, polished gleaming glass.

Mr. Ozai was no slouch when it came to threatening his grounds keepers. If they liked their jobs they made sure not a single flower was out of place.  Azula's lips curled into a smile as she remembered fondly setting fire to a bush or two when she felt like getting the old men who tended to them in trouble.

She was being propped up by several different kinds of pills to try and find a balance between her usual morphling and the caffeine she needed to keep on her toes. A fine dress clung to her, fashionable but practical. Like she was attending a business lunch rather then coming home to see her family after months in the Capitol.

Of course it had been years since she'd seen them as she'd come to the capitol from the hospital where she was being treated.

She let her fingers stroke along the doorknob and for a moment considered turning and running. But no...that would never do. The whole town was watching from their windows and listening from around the corners as they waited for Azula to have another violent outburst.

They all knew it was only a matter of time.

Gripping the door with determination she opened it smoothly.

"I'm home."

Comments

[keep_surviving]

Diana prefers to just sit and observe as she eats, mostly because talking means she has to stop chewing and can't put anymore food in her mouth until she's finished the sentence.

She keeps most of her focus on Azula though, meeting her eyes and smirking.

Honestly though, it's a relief Diana's displaying some manners, given the sight Azula has sometimes walked in to when Di's pigging out in the common room.

[burnedbrighter]

And Azula is grateful for Diana's manners. More then she'll ever say.

Ozai leads the conversation, asking questions about Diana which Azula fields though she has to, for the sake of not appearing to completely control Diana's life, leave a few questions to Diana to answer.

"So how is it living in the Capitol?" He asked her "Is it terribly different from the world you came from?"

[keep_surviving]

"Oh, very different." She smiled prettily at him. "But it makes it very hard to miss my old home, with all the pampering and free food."

That is, if you ignore the frequent death matches. But Diana guessed Ozai was just as desensitized to that as everyone else in this psycho world.

She flashed another look at Azula. "And I love the company."

[burnedbrighter]

He chuckled politely and the flash of a more genuine smile from Azula told Diana that was exactly the correct answer.

"Well even when you win you won't have to go home if you don't want. I'm sure Azula would be happy to mentor you when you become a mentor as well. She's brought alot of pride to this home and prosperity to my business."

Azula continued smiling though it became a bit strained "Simply by being a victor?" She inquired.

"Well that of course." He explained "And it's hard to ignore a company endorsed by multiple victors."

There was a moment as Azula sipped her wine before managing the words that she was clearly biting back.

"Multiple victors father?"

"Well of course. With your connections I'm sure you could entice some of the more popular victors. Perhaps the newest one?"

Azula's face fell "Ah...I would not suggest that one in particular. He's a bit...green. He needs more time before he can be used to his full potential."

The look of disappointment on his face was like a led weight landing in Azula's lap.

[keep_surviving]

She glowered at one of the maids trying to remove a plate they thought she was done with, her face was filled with more intensity than even Azula had ever seen from her, sending the maid scuttling away like a scolded dog.

Then she was back like nothing had happened. She seemed to be good at that.

"You want the new victors to promote you? Good luck with that." She takes a drink.

[burnedbrighter]

He looks surprised by her comment and then smiles that poisonous smile that Azula has apparently inherited.

"Well there are plenty of methods of persuasion. I just thought that since my daughter was among them it would make things easier. Such a clever girl."

Azula clearly did not appreciate the weight of responsibility he was putting on her shoulders. She tried to deflect "Well at least you'll have a better chance with me then you would have with Zuko. What have you been up to since I've been gone?"

Zuko winced, like she'd been expecting this turn of conversation. "Just um...hanging out with Mai." She flushed and kept her eyes focused on the food.

"Ah, nice to see you're being so productive." Azula dug and it seemed to work. Ozai didn't seem pleased with that response. "It seems only one of my daughters has a sharp enough mind for business."

[keep_surviving]

Diana watched the family bullying take place while she buttered and ate a bread roll.

"Who's Mai?" Apparently that was the only part of the exchanged that had interested her.

[burnedbrighter]

"The mayors daughter." Azula explained and then with a wicked smirk "And Koko's only friend."

"I have other friends." Zuko countered weakly face getting redder. "Mai is just my best friend."

"Oh I'm sure." More insinuations that if Ozai noticed, he let pass for now. But the look of disapproval towards Zuko was as subtle as a wrecking ball.

[keep_surviving]

"Koko?" Diana grinned. "That's adorable."

She turned to Azula, that playful look in her eye. "Do you have a nickname?"

[burnedbrighter]

Azula smiled proudly at Diana's assessment and then her smile fell back a few notches when she suggested a nickname for her mentor.

"I...well I don't think that's really necessary." she blustered trying to work around the fate. Zuko seemed hopeful about it. Perhaps there would be one bright spot in this meal.

[keep_surviving]

The coy smirk on Diana's face only seemed to grow as Azula's smile shrank. "Of course it is. It's just not fair if one person gets one and not the other. We don't want you feeling left out."

She taps her chin in mock thought. "What about Zuzu? That's a cute name."

[burnedbrighter]

Something inside her screamed like it was being twisted up, ripped in half and set on fire.

Azula's smile in response clenched a little tighter. "We can just stick with Mentor."

"How nice that you are so casual with your tributes." Ozai commented clearly unamused "In such a respectful position such as yours that must be hard."

[keep_surviving]

"Isn't she just the best?" Diana purred, blazing right through Ozai's obvious disapproval. "Azula's pretty much been the only one to get me motivated to do any training."

[burnedbrighter]

"No small feat to be sure." She chuckled trying to sound like it was all in good fun, but she could feel the judgement looming overhead like a bird of prey ready to strike.

"She's a very clever girl. I expect great things from her. And she does not disappoint."

Zuko now just looked jealous and pouty focusing on her food.

[keep_surviving]

Diana eats two very large forkfuls before speaking again.

"Hopefully I'll be able to impress her a little more in the next arena. Wouldn't want her giving up on me."

[burnedbrighter]

Azula offered what was supposed to be a supportive smile "Well I'm sure you'll come up with something entertaining. You've been creative so far."

"I find it curious you've spent so much time working with the less likely to win." Ozai commented idly. "There are more skilled fighters in your district. Much more worthy of special attention."

Azula twitched clearly conflicting with how her father had taught her "Well...it has been encouraged for the sake of the odds that we mentors offer more aid to those less capable so we have a more well rounded district instead of just a few star tributes."

That seemed to satisfy him and he resumed the last pieces of his meal.

[keep_surviving]

Diana rested her chin on her palm and took a long drag of her drink as Ozai and Azula spoke, after which she placed the glass down and turned to Azula once again.

Her brow was raised and that playful pull in her smirk was back. A dangerous sign. "Was I just insulted by your daddy?"

[burnedbrighter]

"That depends on if you consider it an insult if it's true." Azula reasoned. "You aren't that skilled a fighter. Father is simply favoring a tactic of focusing my attentions on my greatest assets. However I am favoring a slower but ultimately more satisfying team building technique."

Ozai nodded at her assessment.

[keep_surviving]

There's an eyeroll and Diana takes another drink.

"Guess I'm not allowed to argue if you two say so."

[burnedbrighter]

"It's good to see you've taught her loyalty and obedience at least. Not like the others."

But Azula just laughed.

"She is a clever girl. I wouldn't call her obedient so much as smart. She does what is best for her and that keeps her alive much longer then some of my rash tributes who refuse my aid."