thecapitol | Choose your own Azuladventure

Azula.

By now she'd gotten used to her enough to know when she was around, and now that she knew that, it was just as clear she knew she was in pain and watching. She ate it with relish, of course: that was their game, wasn't it? A tug of war with words, Azula's cruelty in mind games and her flippant refusal to accept her warped, evil world view. Azula was the last person she wanted to see, because she knew how angry she was and remembered that she was one of the people that last Guy before she learned about the real superbitch, the one in power that made her hate with Azula seem so small now.

Of course, she also knew she could be set off here. That she was, for all intense purposes, being scrutinized. That her pain was someone's pleasure. Recklessness was her enemy, and Azula was the queen of it. So Mindy hacked away, suppression pain for what she knew best: destruction. Something she could do, a hand she had never truly shown the extend of in the Arena. Dummy heads rolled on the ground, stuffing was falling at her feet.

Dad's last wish was to have her channel her pain into a passion, a hobby. Ironic, since she wouldn't ever get o show him what she could do with it in the first place.

She found the progression of Mindy curious, particularly how it contrasted with some of the other tributes turned mentors.

Unlike most tributes, Mindy started off with the skills she needed to win. The only thing she required to win after that was for the odds to be in her favor. And as soon as she was out she set about trying to insert herself into her new role as mentor. Not only to her tributes but to others as well.

But at her core she was still a child wasn't she? And this was how a child thought a responsible person dealt with their feelings. This was how a child who was not comfortable with her emotions behaved.

This was how Azula would deal with her issues before she found the sweet release of Morphling and wine.

Oh what to do? She could interfere and make good on her promise to spar with her, or she could stand back and watch Mindy exhaust herself. She could lob cruel commentary and enjoy being a distraction or she could simply leave and let the girl rip herself apart.

It all depended on just how cruel she wanted to be.

For now she would watch and see if Mindy would be too stubborn to stop.

She was definitely too stubborn. Mindy wouldn't cry: she let that out when she lost her dad the first time, and to have it happen on top of Guy's captivity was just itching for a reaction where they could gossip and talk and give judgement. It was gross, knowing how she was constantly on display for these fuckers at a given notice.

These thoughts stayed on her mind as she pounded the dummies mercilessly, feeling the sting of sweat running down her face and into her eyes. She was glad she only did this with a tank top and shorts: she might have been sweating her ass off otherwise, and her hands were bruised enough as it was.

Finally, she had enough.

"Did you want something?"

And there it was. The first one to break the silence.

"Oh no, I'm quite satisfied to sit here and reflect upon how very differently we are reacting to the current situation. Of course I had no stake in everyone's loved ones being sent home. My family remains in District Five where they are comfortable."

Not that she cared.

"And the largest reason I am in a pleasant mood has nothing to do with your little crush on everyone's favorite primitive. No justice was served upon Enjolras and he will hopefully learn a lesson in why you should always take care of your responsibilities BEFORE you shoot your mouth off."

"How wonderful for you," Mindy said through her teeth. "Lose a friend and a father, Azula advances two points. Surely the gods of the Capitol must be some twisted, evil mother fuckers. How can one not love another lovely day in Panem?"

Sarcasm. Mostly to make herself feel a little less pissed off at the world.

"Oh God, its not a fucking crush for shit's sake. Unless you bought their stupid ass expose, he's all about Eep. Anyway, sometimes you have a friend you don't want tortured for no fucking good reason other than to appease a pissed off ass...PERSON in the Capitol. And what about Enjolras? I don't follow up on the French Connection other than Eponine."

Edited 2014-05-12 22:35 (UTC)

Azula just smirked, enjoying Mindy's barely contained venom. So far as Azula was concerned, Mindy deserved the frustration she was enduring right now. Served her right for being such an incredible pain in the ass some days.

"Yes, sometimes you have a friend you care about, and sometimes you have a kind, gentle, intelligent older friend you respect and have much stronger feelings for then you care to admit because you didn't have a conventional upbringing and therefor have no idea how to handle actual emotions like a regular person. So you destroy training equipment."

And lastly "I'm not sure what you are referencing outside of the word French, so I'm going to presume you're referring to all of our French tributes as a whole."

"You sound like Harley," Mindy said "talking out of your ass like that. At least she has a PHD in it though. Don't talk to me about how I was raised, because at least it wasn't in this shit hole. If I REALLY didn't know how to control my emotions, your ass would already be curbstomped by now, so count yourself lucky."

She tried one of the moves Maximus had taught her and the stuffing was effectively removed from the dummy. "I'm asking why the hell you mentioned that mentor from your District. Duh."

"You really need to stop underestimating people. It's going to cause you nothing but pain." She remarked in a breezy way as if they were discussing the weather or something light.

"You can accuse me of making things up all you want, but you didn't tell me I was wrong which means you at least know on some level it's true."

And finally,

"Because he's not a mentor anymore." She sighed dreamily. "It's so nice to see that the system works when called upon and those who are so cold and uncaring as to abandon their duties in favor of personal vendettas can be punished accordingly."

"Really? You do nothing but underestimate me, Azula. It's only fair I do the same shit back, so you see how annoying it is. As for me, you don't need to worry. I never underestimate someone I know can pose an issue. You don't do what I do for a living without proper assessment."

She shrugged. "Believe what you want. Your opinions are always so limited by what the Capitol wants you to believe anyway, its frustrating to even get you to try and see otherwise."

And she had the nerve to call HER upbringing limited?

"I knew he was long winded and kinda pompous. What's this about a personal vendetta?"

"The difference being you have yet to prove yourself better then me, where I have already beaten you." Azula reminded her "You just refuse to acknowledge it because you were caught off guard."

Rolling her eyes as if Mindy was asking the stupidest questions Azula answered with exasperation "He became a mentor on luck when many much more worthy victors fell. And as a mentor he refuses to do anything to help our tributes. He is a burden and a threat to everyone I am responsible for. Imagine trying to take care of your tributes and every person you speak to for donations brings up that he actively stands against everything the Capitol believes in. Imagine trying to build up confidence in people to make them believe your district has the best chances to win with someone like him ranting almost non-stop about how wrong the games are."

"He lacks...subtlety among other things."

"Oh please!" Mindy laughed. "Better than me? For all that bullshit you tout about being refined and in control and how I'm a savage, you attacked Guy unprovoked. Yeah, I saw the scars. Even I haven't lost control like that, and that's saying something. Why don't you do yourself a favor and actually admit underneath that you're just as much an animal as me, you just hide it under this persona of thinking you're better than anyone. It's pathetic."

She smiled. "Knowing you actually care about your tributes is shocking. Granted, anyone talking that bluntly about the games and not helping his tributes is just asking for trouble. No wonder they put him back."

If Azula seemed bothered by Mindy pointing out her weaknesses she didn't show it. Instead she simply kept her peaceful smile and adjusted her stance, still wide open and without defense.

"We are all animals child. But just as in the wild some predators are simply better then others." And clearly she was the better of the two of them. Wasn't it obvious to everyone?

"I do my job and I do it to the letter. She continued "I am a mentor and I take that duty seriously. Their lives are in my hands and his pride and ambition would see them all die just to serve his cause."

"Yeah, you have a point, teenager." And Mindy was just about to show Azula who was better. Clearly she struck a nerve, no matter what face Azula was giving. When Mindy got into stance though, it was clear she had not been lax in Panem: her stance was tight, and she looked fearless and composed.

"Glad to see you and I agree on something. Maybe the one thing we do."

Mindy advanced, fists up, and feinted before going for a solar plexus hit.

With lightning speed Azula stepped out of the way and brought her arm up to block any further strikes.

"Do I really look that young? You're so kind. I do take good care of myself." She chuckled condescendingly.

"Oh, I wasn't just talking about your age. I was taking about how you think too."

With just as quick speed Mindy switched tactics and rained blows on her lower body, finishing with a trip to the girl's feet. Did Azula really think she'd start off showing her how fast she truly was?

Azula endured the strikes only to find her opening and land a solid strike to Mindy's throat. The trip caught her and sent her tumbling back where instinct took over and she flipped backwards and onto her feet.

Her stomach ached, but it was worth it.

"How cute." Her smile was unshaken. "Did that make you feel better? Have you proven yourself yet? Is this for me? Yourself? Guy?"

Their eyes met "Or maybe your father?"

"Oh Azula," Mindy said with feigned sweetness, "daddy had me beating the shit out of people like you when I was five. Don't try using mental blocks with me. You're just on that level, k?"

The strike to the throat gave her a momentary stumble, of which Mindy's response was to close off any more distance between them. It was like sparring with Sonja all over again, only without the weapons. She was fast too: the strikes to Azula's lower body were little more than burs, yet she still wasn't yielding Azula sloppy footwork. Maximus had helped with that.

The space it had taken for Mindy to catch up was enough for Azula to go on the defensive once more, catching or deflecting her strikes. Her hands sang with the impact that made her bones tremble. Mindy was strong for her size, but it was mostly in speed.

"Oh Mindy, there's no one you've ever met like me. Don't be so crude, it's unbecoming."

If Mindy had known that many people like Azula, the dark haired girl was convinced Mindy would be dead by now.

"But I am serious. If this is actually helping you I hope you appreciate that I'm humoring you."

"You're right. I don't even know criminals that full of themselves. THEY at least know when to dial it back."

That humoring comment, however, was pushing it far, way too far. Mindy broke from her low attacks with a hard, sailing punch to the jaw followed by a close handed strike right above her chest plate. If Azula was going to continue mocking her, she was at least going to show why people didn't start fights with someone who's abilities they'd never seen yet.

The fist came up and Mindy would feel the air from Azula's nose as she leaned out of it's way. The breeze was impressive, but not to the point that Azula would slow down.

She could feel her confidence soaring today. She was glowing with pride from finding out about Enjolras finally receiving just punishment for his foolish actions.

And nothing made Azula more dangerous then confidence.

The next strike found it's mark and Azula knew there would be a bruise there, but that was a small matter. Mindy wanted a fight and Azula was happy to oblige in the most annoying way possible. More lightning fast strikes to her face, her arms and midsection. Azula was like no criminal in Mindy's world. Training with other warriors would save Mindy from complete humiliation.

But it would not save her from defeat, not on this day.

The smile remained beautifully painted on her smooth soft face as those blazing eyes sought out every opening no matter how small. She would never underestimate Mindy's skill again, not after their last fight. She would never give the girl anything but her absolute best.

How else would Mindy finally learn?

Azula could not destroy Mindy's emotionally, that would take too much time and effort. More then she was willing to sacrifice while she still had a job to do.

But physically she could make sure that Mindy understood for all her posturing and big talk Azula earned every bit of it.

And perhaps there was some still lingering frustrations about her day that Azula packed into her strikes...but what was most important to her was to savor every moment of this encounter.

For today, was Azula's day. Mindy's day had come and gone and perhaps another would come some day.

But it was not this day.

Missed the higher punch, and that figured. She was shit with those even as she was starting to get taller. The other hit made it, but Mindy took an array of Azula's punches too: the face, her arms and her midsections felt Azula's attacks. What Azula would find, of course, was that these hits were not as soft as she would like: Mindy, after all, had been training ever since she got here, and that resulted in some bruising on the girl's hands no doubt. As for Mindy, these hurt, but Azula would see something that might not have pleased her so much.

Mindy was smiling too.

Oh, she'd had a bad day. Her dad was gone, Guy was suffering, and this place had its noose around her neck, stifling her. The chance to actually channel that anger into giving pain, particularly in someone who found joy in her misery, gave her solace and tested her ability to think fast on her feet. This was her dirty secret about the Games: she liked its thrill, the way it pushed her adrenaline and her senses to the brink, and how, even as she knew it was awful, she found its method to make her alert and strong thrilling.

As for the hits, they were fine too: it gave Mindy just the advantage she needed, and she pushed through, entangling their legs. A moment of being off guard and that was all the young girl needed: her blows against the older girl were terrifying and sharp, all seeking edges of her face that would feel her impact.

Dirty perhaps, but it was no secret. Azula mused that even someone as foolish as their most simple tributes could tell that Mindy enjoyed combat.

So much like Azula.

The strikes were not as terrifying to Azula as they might be to others. She could not avoid them but she could minimize the damage by twisting her face to take each strike away from her eyes and nose.

The tangled legs would keep her from flipping away so it was time to abandon more controlled fighting. She pulled hard with her powerful legs to bring them together and tumble to the ground. The sudden shift in position would provide Azula with momentum to bring more power to her punches. Only three before they hit the ground.

But she made them count.

Once on the ground they were a tangle of limbs. Kicking, punching, but she did not scratch or bite.

It wasn't necessary.

The peacekeepers were inching closer, worried that this would be getting out of hand.

On top of Mindy, Azula would press her advantage as hard and fast as she could before Mindy had another chance to turn the tables.

It was long past time for Mindy to learn to respect her and everything she had accomplished. She'd worked too hard to be shown up by on such a glorious day.

Fuck you Peacekeepers. Mindy didn't want anyone interfering with their fight. She didn't even mind taking the three punches. They HURT, and certainly they took some out of her, but she was already planning what would happen next even as Azula's hits connected and she was on top of her. She might have thought she was not underestimating Mindy, but Mindy was about to show the woman there was more to her than just some rogue mentor too.

She's already readied her legs to rear up and that they did, allowing her a fierce leap from the ground and toward the girl's lower body. The momentum was enough to get her righted again, even as their kicks and punches on the ground glanced hard against their bodies.

It was a fight that Mindy intended to finish. She'd tired long ago of Azula's verbal abuse as well as being kept behind a cage of training going on only in the training room. She would, in both instances, show how seriously she should be taken.

Azula wasn't backing down either. Her face swelling, her mouth bleeding...yet still smiling.

Mindy may be at her most serious despite being unarmed, but it was still only keeping up with Azula.

She wasn't overcoming.

For every strike she gave Azula gave back.

For every missed strike there was a dodge.

They had both devoted their lives to training, had shunned friendship and socializing. They had perfected their bodies to a physical peak.

They lived for the rush of blood in their veins and the hammering of their hearts in their chests.

Pain was an explosion of life, so each punishing blow was a reminder they were still alive.

Mindy's father had trained her to be a hero at any cost.

Azula's had trained her to win at any cost.

Azula's was a path of redemption and a fight for respect.

Mindy's was a journey of revenge and justice.

With her muscles burning and sweat making her body shine, Azula still moved like a force of nature. This was one of her advantages over Mindy, how few they may be.

A decade more worth of experience, and for that there was no substitute.

Surely by now she had to be frustrated that Azula wasn't all talk, even if she would find satisfaction in the challenge.

There was no part of Mindy that Azula hadn't hit by this point, and while Azula herself would need a visit to the infirmary and then the spa, she was determined to be the last woman standing.

Today was her day.

She would never have said it, it would never come out of her mouth....but Azula was amazing. finally backing all the bullshit she'd spouted, she could now see the expertise and training that had come from all that time cultivating herself. It annoyed her in the thick of this fight to see what was so plainly obvious now: they were, in fact, very similar. With all the repulsive, self serving garbage Azula said aside, she had continued her training, just as Mindy had. What was more, all that training had made it so she was still fit, physically and emotionally.

But she and Mindy shared one other trait too: stubbornness. For every hit Azula dished out, Mindy gave just as much back. This was a contest to push yourself, and Mindy had WANTED that, more than anything. What was more, they were both fast, so the hits that Azula was giving Mindy now found easier to dodge. She's learned much since her fight with D'Amico that day he was defeated: how to compensate for a hit, how to give back what was given and, most importantly, that you didn't stay down, you kept going.

Mindy pushed and strained, rebounded punches with kicks, avoided more blows and spat out blood happily. She wasn't even tired: not yet.

Choose your own Azuladventure

Re: Training Montage in the Training hall.

Re: Training Montage in the Training hall.

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Re: Training Montage in the Training hall.

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Re: Training Montage in the Training hall.

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