lemoncandy | ic inbox (songerein)

( It's only when he's falling (no, thrown?) that he realizes the danger, and his heart races in sudden nauseas panic. His wings won't help him even a little. Even instinct or reflex don't tell him to open them, and they stay hidden away and useless as ever. Visions flash into mind of wings, dark and beautiful, swooping in to save him...

But they don't come. They haven't been here at all. Nor in the place before this. He's been all alone. And even back home, he was only—

Shealtiel's arms lift up to cover his face uselessly for the impact. From how he's spun, he can see Azula in the distance, coming after him. A tiny voice in the back of his mind hisses all humans are the same, but it's muffled by the way his body slams into the buildings and his world goes temporarily black. He's not sure how far he falls, or through how many walls, but he comes to only seconds later, and moving feels difficult as the dust settles. )

[Even as he settles into the ground, Azula is on him, grabbing him roughly by the shoulder to haul him back upright. Her eyes are flat and lifeless as she rears back with one hand, the other still vice-like on his shoulder-

She manages not to yell, instead muffling it to a harsh, strained whimper. She's not even conscious that she lurches forward and grabs Shealtiel's shoulder the instant the joint snaps back into place, only realizing once the pain begins to subside that she's clinging to him rather roughly-

The flame fades from her eyes for a moment-

"Goodbye, Zuko," she repeats, meeting his eyes as she rears back to finish him off, but something stops her, something inside her screams out that she doesn't want this-

She releases him, the flames subsiding, stepping back with a look of horror.]

( For a long moment, Shealtiel wonders if it's ever going to stop. He's grabbed, yanked up, and then he sees the look in her eyes right before he's dropped again. That hurts, too, falling back into place with a hopeless grunt, but he's moving quicker, clinging to that look, trying to stand.

He can't, at least not so quickly after that. And he doesn't know what to do, or to say, to Azula. He can recognize that something is wrong, or off. That something isn't her. But part of him wonders if he's just making that up to protect himself, and another part of him says it doesn't matter...

Another part again says that it doesn't matter if it's her or not. He can't do anything helpful. Not ever, and especially not now. He coughs, some of his weight shifting to his palm that rests onto the debris next to him with a shift, but that's all he can manage. That, and a look, searching, at Azula. )

[As he sinks helplessly down to the ground, she takes another step back, staring at her own hand.

Well? Aren't you going to finish him off?

No. No. No, no-

Go on. Monster. You know you want to-

She meets his stare for a few moments, then turns and flees, leaving smoldering embers with every footstep, trying to ignore the strangely childlike laugh inside her mind.]

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