thecapitol | Collect your scars and wear 'em well

Entry tags:

Collect your scars and wear 'em well

Who| Aang and YOU
What| Aang got a bat. He will nurse this bat to health and keep it as his companion, so help him.
Where|Training Center
When| Post-Arena, pre-Crowning
Warnings/Notes| A little bit of blood and a lonely child.

Aang is good with animals. He’s been taking care of them since he could walk, and he’s had an animal companion for every lifetime since the Avatar’s inception. (That animal companion, in fact, has been reincarnating with him for every lifetime to be his companion forever, not that he knows that.)

So maybe this is what he needs: an animals companion.

If only the bat weren’t so sick.

A; around the Tribute Center

A little monk boy with arrow tattoos is walking with a bat wrapped snugly in a towel. Her head is covered, which seems to keep her calm as he walks with her cradled in the crook of his arm. She should probably be asleep right now, but her wing seems to have been hurt, so he wants to find a proper splint for it before hanging her on a ledge he made in his room.

“Hey…” He stops in front of the next person he comes across in the hall. “You don’t know where I can find small metal rods and medical tape, do you?”

B; District 4 in the evening

The lights are dimmed. Aang is perched on the couch in front of one of the many aquariums (this one now equipped with little name plates he whittled himself with a surprising amount of skill). He’s created a little enclosure with a box on the table to give his softly squeaking bat a dark place to settle, and he has a little saucer and a tube of red liquid in his lap.

“It’s okay, I know you’re hungry…” he coos softly as he pops the cork on the vial and pours a little bit into the saucer before capping it again and pushing the saucer gently into the box. The animal squeaks before shifting in her box and lapping at the saucer.

C; the roof in the evening

“So. I bet you were grown in a lab, huh?”

The bat can’t climb as well as she should due to her hurt wing, but she makes a valiant effort. Aang has removed the bejeweled collar she came with—it seemed wrong to have another living creature carrying around his name instead of its own—and has temporarily replaced it with a blue ribbon around her neck. She squeaks as she clambers up his shirt, burying her head into the collar of his shirt, provoking a giggle.

“You’re not as angry as the bats in the arena, so I bet you were one of the experiments. Not that being an experiment is bad.” He scratches the bat’s furry back gently as it keeps hunting around his shirt for something interesting. “You remind me a little of Momo. He liked to climb on me too. He and Appa were all I had left of the Southern Air Temple.”

His voice loses some of its cheer. He’s lying down on the roof, staring at the sky. There aren’t any stars when there are lights this bright. “And I thought I felt homeless then. Sure showed me, huh?”

The bat just keeps squeaking and exploring, but he likes to think she’s snuggling a little more.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Arya's bat is sick too, and as much as she doesn't want to admit it, she's scared. Scared he'll die, that she's done something wrong in looking after him to make him decline even further, although he was weak when she was given him, and that she'll be all on her own here again. She's brought him up to the roof to see if the night air will make him perk up, holding him high above her head and trying to make him fly.

"They might turn angry once they're stronger." Her tone is half hopeful - her own attack bat would be wonderful. She can't bring herself to add the if they get stronger to the end, though. She's certain her bat will waste away any day now.

Aang sits up when he hears someone speaking, provoking an irritable squeak from Hariti when she has to cling to his shirt. He supports her with one hand as he turns to see Arya and her bat. (Hopefully, she hadn't heard what he was saying to Hariti beforehand.)

Good. Another bat survived long enough to get to the Training Center. Most of the bats that had been given to them had already been dead. "Are you trying to get the bat to fly?"

Hariti chitters softly, adjusting against Aang to see Arya and the new bat.

She nods, poking at Balerion to try to get him to move from her hand into the open air. If anything, it just makes him shift into even more of a tight ball, determined to stay exactly where he was.

"I thought if I could get him to fly then he might get motivation to eat, too."

"Flying takes a lot of energy. Eating has to come before flying."

Aang holds out his free hand, but he doesn't come closer to Arya. She has a wounded bat she's trying to take care of, so he'll let her come to him so he doesn't freak her out. "You mind if I look at him? Bats are a lot like animals we had around the place I grew up, and sometimes we took care of them too."

Arya steps toward him, cradling the bat gently in her palm for Aang to take. "He's going to die, isn't he?"

"Not flying doesn't mean that he's dying." He carefully scoops up the bat, cradling it gently in his palm as he carefully checks its limbs and its mouth and so on for signs of injury and illness. "What have you been trying to feed him? And how have you been doing it?"

"I don't really know what bats eat," she admits, watching him closely as he looks over her bat, knowing he won't hurt him but not feeling right with him out of her hands at the moment. "I've tried giving him raw meat, that's what my wolf would have had. And vegetables too." It was the one of many ways she'd found to get around her Mentors trying to make her eat them.

"Oh, I think I know your problem, then." Aang pets Arya's bat gently as he offers him back to her. "These are vampire bats. They need blood, not meat or plants. It's easy to feed them; I asked a nurse to draw some blood from me, but if you don't have issues with meat, they sell animal blood in markets. If you want, I can give him some of my blood right now. The vials are just in my room."

Arya's never heard of a vampire bat before, but she thinks the name sounds very grand - far grander than poor little Balerion merits at the moment, but a reflection of what he could be. She doesn't seem at all fazed that he needs blood, instead she looks delighted to know the answer that had been puzzling her these past days.

"Is that all it is? I could give him some right now if they'd let me have a dagger."

"You shouldn't try to cut it out of your arm. You might get infected."

Aang straightens up and cradles his own bat close to his chest before jerking his head towards the door. "I'll show you how I feed them. I just went to one of the nurses and asked her to take my blood with a needle. That way I got enough to last Hariti for a few weeks and I only felt faint for a day or two."

It seems a whole lot more complicated than simply making a cut here and now, but she supposes she should learn how to do it properly. She gathers Balerion up in her arms and stands, ready to follow Aang and peering curiously at his bat.

"Hariti? Is that what you called him?"

"Her. Yeah, the story goes that Hariti is a spirit who protects children. Hariti's a pretty common name where I come from." He sits on the railway of the stairs and slides down each flight of stairs, his bat cradled close to his chest as he goes.

"What did you name him?" he calls up to her, not missing a beat as he slides down.

Arya can't help being a little jealous and it shows; she pouts as she glances back down towards Hariti. "I wanted a girl bat," she says a little petulantly. Her eyes light up, though, when she says her own bat's name. "Balerion. He was a dragon, ridden by Aegon the Conqueror. They called him the Black Dread."

Aang's not sure if he should be offended on behalf of his gender or not. "There's nothing wrong with boy bats." He slides down another few floors. "Balerion is a cool name. I didn't know there were dragons in worlds besides mine."

She looks even more jealous that there are actual real live dragons where he comes from. "There aren't now. They all died out. But I've seen their skulls, in the Red Keep."

"Oh." Aang's face falls a little. "Yeah, there aren't really any where I come from, either. They're dead too."

Except for two, but he promised not to reveal that they're alive.

"People hunted them to death."

"Most of the ones from my world were wiped out at the Doom of Valyria. King Aegon and his sisters had the last three, but they're all gone now. Nobody could hunt them, though. They were too powerful."

"The firebenders of my world thought that it proved their firebending prowess if they killed a dragon. What was the Doom of Valyria?"

When Aang gets to his room, he keeps the light off for the comfort of the bats. His room is far cleaner and more barren than a child's should be, but he was taught to be neat and have minimal material possessions. He places Hariti on his neatly made bed and goes to his side table to take out a small vial of dark red liquid and a petri dish. "The bats like to eat in dark places. If you're someplace lit up, you can cover them up with something and they'll be okay."

"Valyria was a great city across the Narrow Sea, thousands of years ago." Arya's face lights up, proud to be telling stories of her own land especially ones that weren't personal and would make her sad to think of. "The greatest city there ever was. But it was all destroyed - the mountains burst and liquid fire poured out from them, and the ground split in two and swallowed people down into the earth."

Felicity doesn't exactly have the run of the Tribute center, but she's a common enough fixture in the common areas. With an uncle that works there and a slowly-building reputation as a purveyor of fanworks, there are few other places that she'd rather be. It's a great opportunity for so many things! Like helping out kids with their troubles!

"Oh!" She's startled at first because it's Aang, adorable Aang, but the moment it clicks that he needs something, she is springing into action. "Maybe? Maybe! One second, one second!" And then she is swinging around the oversized and bulging messenger bag that she's got slung over one shoulder, and starting to root around in it. "I've totally got medical tape! Don't know about metal rods... pencils? I've got pencils..... but I've got medical tape!"

Aang knows a Capitolite when he sees one. Off-worlders and Districters hold themselves differently than Capitolites. Nonetheless, a person being a Capitolite isn't an immediate reason to dismiss them, especially if they have tape for your bat.

"Great!" He adjusts his hold on the bundle in his arms, and gently moves the cloth so he can reveal the bat's head. She squeaks softly in protest. "Hariti's wings are hurt. I could probably splint them with pencils until I find something better."

Felicity would be incredibly flattered to know that she is successfully passing as a Capitolite. Her classmates still haven't bought into it, and maybe that's why she's trying a little too hard to put on that carefree, overdone attitude. But if it works, it works, and that's what matters. Which is also immediately applicable to this situation, what with the poor little injured bat.

"Oh! Oh no..." She's immediately sadly sympathetic, and dropping into an easy crouch to better get on Aang's level and also take a look at the squeaking little thing. "What happened? Here, here..." And she has found that medical tape, and produces it and offers it. It's the thin sort, easy-tearing and self-adhesive. "Popsicle sticks might work too, if you cut them right. Or... or skewers? Wooden skewers? Easier to get than metal stuff! The kitchen might have them!" There's a lot of genuine empathy and helpfulness on display here. She really wants to help the poor little bat.

"Skewers would probably be best. They're thin enough for her wing."

Aang appreciates the concern. More and more, he finds himself falling into a trap of dismissing Capitolites as a whole offhand. He has to try to meditate and mentally remove himself from that, because he of all people understands that a person's people of birth doesn't decide what they will be, but it's hard to find many Capitolites that break the mold without being taken away by the powers that be.

"Do you mind coming with me to get them? I'm going to need someone to help hold her wing while I tape it."

"Yeah! She's so tiny, with such tiny wings...." She nods quickly, and springs up spryly from that crouch. "I don't mind! Not at all. I've got all the time in the world!" She does not need to be asked twice. If she can be of help and be of help to one of the nicest Tributes, she is so down for it. Without even waiting for Aang to set off on his own, she's taking steps back towards the kitchens.

"Do you take care of a lot of animals? I mean... when you get the chance?" When you're back in your own world? But the latter question is a little rude to ask, so she is not asking it.

He walks after her to the kitchen, keeping his pace swift but steady for the sake of the bat cradled in his arms. No need to jostle the poor girl because he's in a rush.

"Yeah. I used to take care of my buddy, Appa, who's a flying bison. Also Momo, the flying lemur." Air Nomads lived in harmony with nature. Looking out for the odd animal that needed it was part of that. They weren't encouraged to have pets; they were supposed to have one companion in a bison, and sometimes could have lemurs as pets, but otherwise, animals were supposed to be taken care of and released.

He ducks into the kitchen, and loudly grabs the attention of the nearest cook by saying, "Excuse me, but do you have any clean skewers?"

"A flying bison?" The lemur, maybe that was reasonable (what was a lemur, again?) But bison were... big, right? "How does a bison fly? Does it have wings?" This is some pretty cool stuff. She's genuinely interested in the answer.

As for the matter of the skewers, the nearest cook looks their way, grimaces uncertainly and suspiciously, and tilts his head. "What do you need those for?"

"First aid for a pet bat!" Felicity is happy to chime in and help. "Look at the poor little thing! You've gotta wanna help a poor little thing like that, right?"

"Well..."

"No, they use airbending." Aang's answered this question many times, so it rolls off his tongue by rote. "They manipulate the air currents around them so they can fly."

Aang gives the cook his best puppy eyes as he cradles the bat close. Usually, adults fold pretty quickly when he gives them the eyes. "Please? Her wing is hurt. I promise to clean it and give it back after she's better."

"Oooooh... so they're talented bison!" Which is a very interesting thing, and now she is also imagining bison that can do all kinds of stuff other than fly, but there's no time to voice these silly thoughts aloud. There is pleading to be done, and cute faces to be made. Look. Look at these cute faces.

"I don't know, they inventory everything..."

And that is when Felicity hauls out the pout. "Aw! C'mon! Just a few little skewers for one little bat!"

The combined assault is hard to resist. Also, these two kids in the kitchen are a distraction from work. The cook hushes them, looks around to be sure that no one else is watching too closely, and then pulls a handful of wooden skewers from a supply drawer and drops them into Felicity's hands. (Aang's are full of bat, after all.) "There! All yours! Now go on!"

Aang keeps his puppy eyes in the mix, and when the cook gives skewers to Felicity, he lets out a sigh of relief and a bright smile.

"Thank you. I'll put these on her right away." He keeps his voice quiet out of consideration for the cook (and consideration for their own desire to not get caught).

He turns around, still cradling the bat, and nods for Felicity to follow him. "Thank you so much for helping me get those. I bet her wing will get better in no time."

"Thanks! You're the best, seriously!" It's important to thank those that have done you a favor. And just as important to get out in a timely fashion, so she follows right on behind Aang.

"Hey, it's no problem! You've gotta help where you can." She's feeling quite proud of herself for having been helpful, doubly-so that she's been helpful to a famous Tribute like Aang. (It is hard to stop fangirling once you start.) "I've got... hey, I think I've got clippers in here too, if you want to trim them down neatly?"

She'll keep right on following him to wherever he's going to go settle down and do the work.

From time to time, Vivi likes to go and sit at the rooftop for those days when he wants to be alone. It's a different feel from sitting at the park. It reminds him of the cliff overlooking the ocean back home, although he never thought that he'd miss the tranquil waves of the water hitting the rocks. He misses a lot of things, so being up here is ideal whenever that homesickness kicks back in again.

Hearing a voice belonging to another, the mage follows it, peeking over from one of the chairs set up. He's confused at who the other kid is talking to at first until he notices that he's addressing the little bat. Not wanting to eavesdrop on the conversation, he attempts to quietly step way...

...only to stumble over the leg of the chair and falling flat on his face.

The noise has effectively startled Aang. He rolls to his feet in one motion, bracing Hariti in his palm, and turns towards the noise. "Who's there?"

He's flushing already, knowing someone must have heard him talking, as he slowly approaches the noise. Once he sees who it is, he's still flushing, but at least he relaxes a little. "...Hi."

He has never really spoken to Vivi, but he's seen him around the school all the kids are forced to go to. It's not as if he's a complete stranger.

Vivi lifts his face with his hands braced against the floor and looks at Aang, his hat shields his eyes just enough for him to appear apologetic - because he is.

"H-hello." He pushes himself up to dust off his pants and readjusts his hat. The motion seems fluid and well practiced to indicate that tripping is just something that happens a lot for the mage. "I hope I didn't disturb you and your friend."

He cants his head towards the little bat in Aang's palm. If other is embarrassed about being caught talking to the critter, he has nothing to fear from the mage.

"No, it's okay. We weren't doing much anyway. Are you okay?"

He looks okay, but Aang just wants to make sure. He starts gently stroking the head of the little bat, making a little place with his legs for her to settle. He's always felt a little curious about this classmate of his, but has never gotten around to really approaching him. "What brings you up here?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He really is. He has suffered worse falls before. Lately, he's been wanting to reach out to his fellow classmates but his shyness often gets the best of him. It's strange that when lumped together in a setting with only other kids, he feels even more out of place than usual.

"I just came up here to think, since the view is nice and all. Is your friend okay? She looks like she'd been injured."

"Yeah, she just... You remember all those bats they gave us at school?"

Aang gestures for his classmate to come closer and sit with him. He's been having trouble making lasting friendships these days, more trouble than he did before, but he still likes people and still likes being able to talk to them a lot.

"She had a hurt wing. I put a splint on her and started feeding her. She's getting better now."

Vivi nods and takes a seat next to him. He rarely speaks much to begin with and would rather let others do the talking. It's even more apparent around other kids. He's noticed this but can't place why talking around other children is a little more difficult. It helps to know that Aang is welcoming though. It's hard to strike up a conversation if the other person deems him suspicious or dangerous.

The mage's eyes brighten with interest as he looks down at the bat. "Oh...she's going to be okay then?"

She's so small...he'd hate to see such a helpless animal die. "How did this happen?"

"Yeah, I think she's going to be okay. She's getting better and better every day."

It's becoming stranger and stranger for Aang to talk to people his own age. It's hard to find anyone with shared life experience, and his own personal shutting down of himself makes it harder to bridge that gap. Still, it's nice to just have someone to talk to.

"I'm not sure. I think they weren't handling the bats well in whatever lab they made them, so some of them came out hurt or deformed. It's okay for Hariti because all she really needed was a splint and some patience."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Collect your scars and wear 'em well

C

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

A

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

C

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject