video: Avatar Arrival --> In person

[all_the_aangles]

[When the feed comes on it's clearly accidental. There is a close up of a pair of eyes, and a tattooed blue arrow on his forehead.]

Ok, so, screen towards me. Check.

[They glanced sideways and there was the sound of paper rustling.]

So the apple...no, app is open, ok. That's what they said. Wait, is it on?

[He steps back suddenly, revealing a sixteen-year-old in orange and yellow robes. He's smiling, and waves.]

Oh, hello. My name is Aang, and I've just -

[It's then that it turns out the camera was not t all securely placed, as it tumbles off of it's place, with there only time for a 'uh-oh' to be heard before the video feed cuts out. Technology isn't his forte, really. And he's a bit...discombobulated, really.]


But, in person...

But he's actually very easy to find, given his garb, and the staff at his side. The miniature skybison flying around him in a slow circle hardly hurts. The pixie sitting on his shoulder might be a little more familiar to the local population, though.

He's had some encounters, of course - and as he wanders he city, taking in the sights...he is bound to have many more.

But for a little while - just a little while - he isn't the Avatar. He's just a (relatively) normal teenager, who draws very little attention. For the moment, at least, he can just be Aang for the first time in his life.

Comments

[rediscovering]

Oookay...

[ Womp womp... ]

Water?

[all_the_aangles]

[He shrugged]

Pretty sure it's not in there. I am a hundred percent without bending, Zuko, and I've got no idea how to make anything else happen.

[rediscovering]

I know it's not bending, but— you can do something...

[ He racks his brain, scratching his head, letting loose his defensive stance as they deliberate. Then an idea comes to him, and he grabs Appa from midair with both hands, shoving the bison toward his master. ]

I know! Here! Talk to Appa!

[ Animal magic! Right? Right??? ]

[all_the_aangles]

What th-[Then he has a mouthful of fur as he's bowled over, staff doing a turn or two before hitting the ground.]

[Then, muffled, from underneath an aggrieved-looking Appa.]That. Didn't. Work.

[rediscovering]

[ Zuko scowls, contemplative, and releases the sky bison, letting him resume his maybe now slightly-less-happy floating. ]

You barely tried! You gotta think about it, hard! I know a guy with animal magic who said he can talk to birds and stuff. That seems— uh— like your cup of tea...

[ Does it? Zuko can see Aang having a riveting conversation with some birds, personally. He's grasping at straws here. But here to help. ]

[all_the_aangles]

[He stands, giving Zuko what can only be described as a look.]

Think about it. What does that even mean, Zuko?

[rediscovering]

What? You like animals!

[ The most innocent, oblivious, dumbass shrug. He's not thinking about it. ]

[all_the_aangles]

[He gives him another look.]

Not when they're thrown at me!

[rediscovering]

Okay, so what do you think your magic might be, then? If you could have a magical power — one you don't already have, I mean — what would it be? Maybe it's that!

[ He's helping, uh, you're welcome? ]

[all_the_aangles]

I don't have any magical powers! I had Avatar abilities!

[He looks down to make sure Appa's ok - by then, he's already shuffling off, seeming to grumble.]

There's nobody to just tell me what to do?

[His Pixie floated into view, then, over his shoulder. And prodded him a few times.]

Other than you, and so far I think you just want me to try to get you candy.

[rediscovering]

Candy?! What if you have alchemy magic?! Maybe your familiar is trying to give you a hint!

[ A noble thought, Prince Zuko... ]

[all_the_aangles]

She seems to have a great need or want, yeah. We're still figuring each other out.

[And the Pixie sticks her tongue out at Zuko. Not a noble creature, this one, in many ways. More of a troublemaker than a troublesolver.]

How did you get yours to work?

[rediscovering]

I tried some firebending forms when I first arrived, and airbending came out — but I was really upset at the time. It's definitely got to do with my emotions, like if I'm in a heightened state of emotion, I can conjure magic more easily, but with less control... My first time making fire magic, it was because I was distraught, honestly. Sokka gets fire magic when he's mad, too. Same with my good friend Hikaru. But with practice, mindfulness is key, just like real bending.

[ "Real" bending, he says. He flicks a gentle gust of air Aang's way, blowing his pixie in the way by accident. He's still not great, but has control and focus he didn't have with these abilities before, at least. ]

[all_the_aangles]

[He rubs the back of his neck, thinking about that.]

Maybe...maybe I don't have the emotions for it. Right now. It's...complicated?

[He pauses, not sure if he should even say what's on his mind.]

I think...part of me likes not having abilities.

[rediscovering]

...You don't feel— empty? Without your bending?

[ Zuko and Azula had been so troubled by the feeling of missing their fire; Zuko could only imagine feeling it as a loss of a sense of self. Wouldn't it be tenfold for Aang, who had three other elements under his belt to boot? He looks surprised. ]

[all_the_aangles]

[A smile breaks outs. There isn't even a hint of hesitation.]

Not at all! Zuko, my whole life has been...keep the world in balance, save everything, using my powers, just...being the Avatar, all the time, and...

Well, if everyone else has powers, then...I can just be...Aang, for a while. Right?

[rediscovering]

...Heh.

[ It takes Zuko a beat, staring at Aang with an uncharacteristically open face as he processes these words, then lets out a breathy huff of a chuckle, shrugging and smirking lightly with closed eyes. ]

Yeah. Just Aang.

[ He looks back to him with a genuine smile more now. ]

Only a couple people here know I'm a prince. I'm keeping it a secret. In this place, I'm just... Zuko. So I get it. We can be Just Zuko and Just Aang together here. But you still need magic, Just Aang!

[all_the_aangles]

[He'd read stories, as a little kid, that went something like this.]

All we need is a peasant to take your place and we've got the complete fairy tale.

[rediscovering]

Ha, I think I've already taken the place of the peasant, does that count... Azula and I are broke half the time.

[ Only because Zuko doesn't know how to spend his fucking money. Well, not entirely true — he knows how to spend it. Just not how to save it. ]

But you know — I've decided I'm gonna start going to school. They pay you to be a student like it's a job. So you can learn magic. You should go to school, too, Aang!

[ Actually, he's way more excited about this idea that's just occurred to him than he seems. ]

[all_the_aangles]

[Weirdly, so has he.]

I've never been in an actual school before...

[rediscovering]

Neither have I. I always had tutors who came to the palace. Father only sent Azula to school — cuz she was so much smarter and more gifted, you know. But that's where she made those friends of hers, Mai and Ty Lee. And I've got friends here now who went to school in their worlds. They seem to like it.

[ He's not sure if that's an overstatement or not, but they seem not to dislike it, which is close enough. ]

Besides, that's the best way for us to get good at magic. I definitely need the guidance. I'm not anywhere near the Avatar you are, Aang... Er– were. You know.

[ By that, he means to say, his magic sucks. No matter how hard he works at it he's not satisfied without a teacher to guide him. Zuko has very few knacks; he works hard to get good at what he sets his mind to and that's it. Not that Aang doesn't work hard, Zuko knows, but that's about all Zuko's got going for him. He hasn't learned nearly as much magic as he'd like so far and it's driving him mad. ]

[all_the_aangles]

[He patted Zuko's shoulder. This one? This one's easy.]

Stop trying to be the Avatar, then.

[He offers a gentle smile.]

You're measuring yourself against other people, Zuko. Azula, me, whoever else. So...be Zuko instead. You know, Fire Lord Zuko, the wise hero of a whole nation!

Because let me tell you - that guy? That guy was pretty neat.

[rediscovering]

[ That draws a crooked, bashful smile from the Fire Lord to-be, his eyes meeting Aang's in a warm silence. He's not wrong; he compares himself to people all the time, measures himself by other people's standards... But to be called "Neat?" That's a first. ]

...Thanks, Aang. You're, uh— pretty neat, too — even if you're not the Avatar anymore.

[ On the one hand, he does mean it teasingly... But on the other hand, it's Zuko — he means everything he says quite earnestly. Should it turn out Aang doesn't have any elemental magic here like Zuko and Sokka do, then, well, it'll just be yet another challenge for the young airbender to overcome and probably excel at. Zuko's along for the ride. ]

[all_the_aangles]

Yeah. I'm not sure how I'll feel about that tomorrow, but...[He shrugs] For now it's just nice to be Aang. This place is so strange, that as I walked here? People looked at Appa, not at me.

[He brightens]

So new things to discover. Right! [And he brings his hands together to clap...and there is a powerful gust of air.]

[rediscovering]

Aang! You did it! Did you feel that?! The air! So you do have elemental magic!

[ Zuko's far more excited about this than Aang, probably. Guess what, you're still the Avatar, buddy. ]