thecapitol | And so this is Christmas...

WHO| Aang and you!
WHAT| Aang is moping and being contemplative.
WHEN| Christmas day
WHERE| The roof, around the Capitol, generally away from festivities
WARNINGS| Sad child, mentions of past violence, mentions of past genocide, angst over having accidentally killed someone

A

Clementine had briefly explained Christmas to him before. The festival of the all-seeing tree spirit. It seems really popular, since lots of people have decorations up and are singing songs. Songs which he has never heard before. Normally that would be exciting, but right now, it just makes him feel so impossibly remote from the world around him.

He doesn't want to be around a lot of people. He tried staying in his room and meditating for an extended period of time, but he can't achieve the concentration and peace for meditation (how pathetic is that? He's been doing it twice a day since he was old enough to airbend), and he feels restless. Like he wants to run and never stop.

But he doesn't have that luxury, so he puts on a hoody (to hide the arrow on his head), gloves (to hide the arrows on his hands), and shoes (to hide the arrows on his feet) before going outside and wandering aimlessly through the snow, his head ducked to avoid random Capitolites from recognizing him (and to avoid seeing them flaunting unearned arrow tattoos).

He keeps wandering. Purposely giving carolers and festive fashionistas a wide berth. Sometimes, he bumps into people from just staring at his feet.

"Sorry about that."

B

He picks at the stores, buying little things before going to the roof of the Training Center, surrounded by little tools and crafts to help him find something to do with his hands. Sometimes he carves wood. Sometimes he threads beads. Sometimes he ties rope. He makes pretty things, little pieces of amateurish (but good for his age) jewelry. He has a knack for artistry and putting beauty into work, but right now, his hands shake and his fingers fumble, and not because of the cold.

In front of him is a simple green Christmas ornament. Sometimes he puts his work away so he can pick it up and examine it. He doesn't understand the purpose of decorating the tree, but it's new and it's pretty. He's quick to put it aside again before going back to work, though, because right now, all it does is remind him of how little he knows about the culture around him, any of the cultures around him, and how he'll never be in a place where he is completely comfortable with the culture again.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hmm." She pursed her lips in thought and glanced around to see if they were being watched. As always there were the couple odd rubber neckers who could spot a celebrity a mile away but they weren't drawing a crowd. Probably because as far as mentors went Azula was hardly the most popular.

"You look terrible." She declared bluntly. "Come along, I'm going to get you a warm drink and something to eat. I can't stand seeing something so pathetic."

This was about as nice as she could stand to be to someone she only knew a little about. Still he was young and harmless without his powers so it wasn't a stretch for her.

Aang probably should have categorically rejected any invitation an incarnation of Azula gave him, but he felt lost and hadn't been going anywhere in particular, so...

"Okay. Thanks."

She had a funny way of being abrasively nice. It reminded him a little of Toph, except Toph was rough physically while Azula seemed to stay elegant while being rough verbally.

He shoved his hands in his hoody pocket, looking down at the ground so the hood could fall over his eyes and hide most of his face from onlookers. He didn't want strangers trying to talk to him like some celebrity.

She turned sharply on her heel and began to stride in short but powerful motions, slowing after the first few steps to make sure Aang didn't lag behind too much.

She was pleased to see the crowded sidewalk seemed to open up in front of her. It was a soothing and familiar feeling of power and respect, the same feeling she was always chasing and longing for. Some days the citizens seemed to forget just who she was and why they should stay out of her way. Thankfully today was not one of those days.

The scent of baking drifted on the cold breeze and Azula led Aang to a nearby shop, not waiting for him as she swept inside to get out of the cold. The smell was stronger inside the cozy little cafe and there was a rustling in the basket that she carried.

"Sit." She ordered him pointing to an empty table for two by the fireplace. While he did that she would place their order and return with two cups. Coffee for her and Hot chocolate for him.

A smiling fish shaped marshmallow bobbed in the dark liquid watching Aang as Azula took her seat.

"I hate the cold." She grumbled removing her expensive looking black leather gloves.

Edited 2014-12-31 00:05 (UTC)

Aang followed her without complaint. Her directions were a comfort. He nodded his thanks for the hot chocolate, but didn't immediately drink--he held it close to his chest, looking down at the gradually melting fish marshmallow. It reminded him of Tui when she still swam around with La, but there was no La for her to swim with in hot chocolate.

"You're a firebender where I come from. From the Fire Nation. You probably don't like cold there, either," he said absently, watching the marshmallow bob around his mug. He swirled it gently so the bobbing could go in a circular motion, like Tui (or maybe Yue) was actually in there.

Finally some answers! She had tried and failed with Zuko so she had thought a more long term questioning might be the trick with Aang. It seemed to be working in it's own way.

"And do you like the cold? I imagine it must be uncomfortable on your scalp. You'd have to bundle up more." The fad of people shaving their heads and getting arrow patterns of one sort or another had not gone unnoticed by the princess and while she thought it was silly she still kept an eye on it.

"I never used to be too cold. Or too warm. My airbending always took care of that kind of thing, even when I was in the north or south pole." That was why he never needed to wear a jacket when he traveled. It had its uses, especially when he traveled with people who couldn't regulate their temperatures the same way.

"Now, I guess I still don't mind it as much as other people."

"Fascinating." The idea that his powers were capable of that using only air? Or maybe there was more to it. Plenty of time for analysis later but she had to sooth him now if she wanted to win him over and learn more.

"Where was your favorite place to visit back home?" She pressed trying to imagine a world more open to travel then the one she currently lived in. After all she may be content to sit in the crown jewel of the civilized world but that didn't mean she wasn't curious.

Aang shrugged, staring down at his hot chocolate before finally taking a sip. "I don't think I could pick one." He put his cup down, but he still didn't make eye contact. He was staring at the dissolving fish. "It used to be better to travel around before the war, but now a lot of places are broken or dangerous. I still like the Air Temples, and I still like seeing all these new places, but I think I'd prefer it if the war was over."

He was tired of blood.

"Well that's only natural isn't it?" She offered keeping her eyes on him and gently stirring her drink with a long thin cookie she had produced from a package at the end of the table next to the cream and sugar packets.

"The only people who long for war are warriors and profiteers. And you don't strike me as much of either. Preventing war and death is what the Capitol does after all by making sure all the other districts do their jobs."

A small lie but it would do for now. She knew the deeper truth to the Capitols intentions after having had her eyes opened to it by her tributes. There was no charity in mind though it was true they didn't want a war.

Aang finally looked up from his hot chocolate long enough to raise one skeptical eyebrow. Had he been taken to Panem right from his time in the iceberg, he would have had a furious outburst about how the Capitol was only good for death and fear so a few rich people could lounge on the breaking backs of the poor.

But instead, he looked back down at his hot chocolate and bit his tongue. He had no doubt she knew what he thought of the Capitol. He learned an appreciation for the times it's better to keep one's thoughts to oneself while in the Fire Nation. "The war's been going on for a hundred years. I don't know if a lot of people will know what to do with their lives after it's over."

It made sense after all. Azula knew for a fact if The Games ended tomorrow there would be hundreds if not thousands of Capitol citizens out of work, many of them with skills that did not translate easily into other more mundane fields. For example most mentors were only really capable of being tacticians or physical fitness instructors depending on how many specialties they had and how badly they had been scarred by their experience.

"That's the amazing thing about humans though." She reflected with a sort of smug optimism. "They adapt when pressured. Every human is born with the capacity to rise above their station in life and become something greater then themselves. Few do, but it's possible."

And then there were people like her who were born better from the start. And no amount of work could put some losers on her level.

And so this is Christmas...

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