( He doesn’t know why she doesn’t react to any of his comments, and the seeds of fear already planted inside of him begin to sprout. Shealtiel shifts his hand over to look at the applied substance, already noting the slight soothing sensation beneath the stings.
Even that plant is more useful than him. His frown deepens, and as he lowers his hands back to his lap and sits up a little more, he swallows hard. )
Azula, are you mad at me?
( The way he asks is terribly small and pathetic, like a child. He barely forces himself to make eye contact, and his eyes, though there are only two of them now, manage to look almost like a puppy’s. )
[... That wasn't at all the question she'd expected, and she meets his eyes for a few silent moments, finally breaking eye contact as she responds.]
Don't be ridiculous. You're the one who snapped, remember?
[And there it was again. She hadn't even had to say anything. Making people miserable, driving them away, again, like always, even when she was trying to-
She wasn't sure what she was trying to do, actually. Treat his injuries, she supposes. Make them even. Whatever it was, she'd failed at it. She used to be good at things before she came to this awful city. Now, even when she's trying to help, all she can manage to do is hurt and frighten people.
Monster.
Rrgh. And this fool thought he was a- she was right there, he should be able to see the difference, the useless idiot.]
( He snaps that out, then pauses, realizing his own mistake and pursing his lips slightly over it. )
Okay, maybe I snapped a little.
( It's a muttered admission, but it's one all the same, even as he's wringing his fingers together in his own lap. )
I'm tired of people telling me what I should or shouldn't want. I just need... time. To decide for myself. ( He's clearly lost in some sort of thought, finding it difficult to look back at her. )
[Diffident again, but rather than frustration she feels relief again.]
You were telling me about angels.
[Or, rather, how the angels were preying on him for their own purposes, and he was foolishly loyal to them-
"Father... regrets? He... wants me back?" She heard the surprise, the aching hope in her brother's voice, and she kept the smirk of satisfaction from reaching her face-
Azula suddenly shuts the water off, a little more forcefully than she needs to and wheels to face him, keeping her expression carefully neutral again.]
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no subject
Date: 2022-10-10 05:37 am (UTC)( He doesn’t know why she doesn’t react to any of his comments, and the seeds of fear already planted inside of him begin to sprout. Shealtiel shifts his hand over to look at the applied substance, already noting the slight soothing sensation beneath the stings.
Even that plant is more useful than him. His frown deepens, and as he lowers his hands back to his lap and sits up a little more, he swallows hard. )
Azula, are you mad at me?
( The way he asks is terribly small and pathetic, like a child. He barely forces himself to make eye contact, and his eyes, though there are only two of them now, manage to look almost like a puppy’s. )
no subject
Date: 2022-10-10 06:02 am (UTC)Don't be ridiculous. You're the one who snapped, remember?
[And there it was again. She hadn't even had to say anything. Making people miserable, driving them away, again, like always, even when she was trying to-
She wasn't sure what she was trying to do, actually. Treat his injuries, she supposes. Make them even. Whatever it was, she'd failed at it. She used to be good at things before she came to this awful city. Now, even when she's trying to help, all she can manage to do is hurt and frighten people.
Monster.
Rrgh. And this fool thought he was a- she was right there, he should be able to see the difference, the useless idiot.]
no subject
Date: 2022-12-23 05:13 am (UTC)( He snaps that out, then pauses, realizing his own mistake and pursing his lips slightly over it. )
Okay, maybe I snapped a little.
( It's a muttered admission, but it's one all the same, even as he's wringing his fingers together in his own lap. )
I'm tired of people telling me what I should or shouldn't want. I just need... time. To decide for myself. ( He's clearly lost in some sort of thought, finding it difficult to look back at her. )
You seemed angry about me running in there.
no subject
Date: 2022-12-23 07:19 am (UTC)[... Oops. Okay, too harsh. She moderates the tone a bit as she disposes of the remaining slices of aloe.]
Rushing into a burning building just to save one person, with no plan and no equipment? Of course I was annoyed.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-03 06:20 am (UTC)Didn't you do the same thing to save me, though?
( At least it makes his hands relax in his lap after all the fidgeting. )
no subject
Date: 2023-01-03 07:08 am (UTC)And then she goes and begins washing her hands, speaking in a more typically neutral tone.]
I can control fire. I don't need equipment, and I had a plan.
[...which would have sounded a lot more convincing if the last word hadn't come out in a slightly raspy hiss that nearly ended in another cough.]
no subject
Date: 2023-01-03 07:43 am (UTC)R-right! What I said was that it was completely different, haha...
( Ahem. Clearing his throat, and coughing a little more from it, he stands, moving to see how Azula is doing at this point. )
Anyway... I think I got a little off track of everything.
no subject
Date: 2023-01-03 08:02 am (UTC)You were telling me about angels.
[Or, rather, how the angels were preying on him for their own purposes, and he was foolishly loyal to them-
"Father... regrets? He... wants me back?" She heard the surprise, the aching hope in her brother's voice, and she kept the smirk of satisfaction from reaching her face-
Azula suddenly shuts the water off, a little more forcefully than she needs to and wheels to face him, keeping her expression carefully neutral again.]