Life in the Apocalypse

[markofthewise]

Characters: Sokka, Azula
Setting: Post-apocalyptic Fire Nation Capital City
Summary: Continuation from this meme. After seeing Katara killed, Aang went into an unstoppable Avatar State that devastated the world. Two survivors, once enemies, have put their past behind them to fight off loneliness in a sparsely populated world.

Comments

[markofthewise]

No. I'm hungry. So I'm going to finish it.

[More like he doesn't want her to have it. Even though he's skeptical she'd ever eat off a plate he already started on.]

[unstable]

Suit yourself. [ The princess ruffles his hair before she goes to sit by the fire once more, stretching her legs out. ] I may be able to find different spices if I look for them, I never gave it a thought before since I don't really care about your taste buds.

[markofthewise]

[Azula sure is affectionate today. Sokka twirls in his seat to watch her move along, while slowly finishing off the rest of the food.]

I'm absolutely touched you're giving so much thought to them now. Really.

[unstable]

[ Hey. That is not affection! ]

I don't have to, of course, if you'd prefer.

[markofthewise]

[Whatever, Azula. Whatever. She'd never have down that six months ago!]

No no. If you want to make our food tastier, by all means. We need something to make up for the lack of vegetables.

[unstable]

[ Only because she might have feared her fingers would fall off if she did. She's learned since then. ]

Winters are short here. We'll get our vegetables soon enough, but since you're so pushy the next time I'm out I'll keep an eye out for spices.

[markofthewise]

Oh, Azula. You spoil me. What would I do without you?

[Heavy on the sarcasm, light on the somewhat disturbing layer of affection that grows from living with someone and not wanting to kill them.]

[unstable]

You'd probably be dead without me, or wandering the cold all alone.

[ The princess rolls her eyes, the fire flickering blue as she moves her hands closer to it. She pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. ]

The wind is picking up, we probably won't be able to go out tomorrow unless we risk freezing to death.

[markofthewise]

That's me, Azula. Never handled a cold day in my life.

[She needs him just as much as he needs her. She won't admit and he won't. But he's pretty sure they both know it. Finished with his food, he'll finally go and sit by her.]

But I guess this means it's just another night in.

[unstable]

That isn't what I said.

[ Why isn't the Water Tribe called the Snow Tribe? Or the Tribe of Cold and Misery? He's pretty correct about her knowing and not admitting it, too. What are they supposed to do all night? There was only so many nights in she could handle, really. The quality time she was forced to spend with Sokka was making her do things like Appreciate him and that was something she never did. ]

Lucky us.

[markofthewise]

We could always play Pai Sho again.

[Not that he particularly enjoyed constantly losing to her. But he was getting better and better and adapting to her strategy. Eventually he'd claim victory. And then he could be the one to gloat.]

[unstable]

It may be fun for you, but being able to outsmart you every single time we play isn't really much of a challenge for me, Sokka. But do I have much of a choice? Our options are extremely limited.

[ Why couldn't five more people their age be trapped in the Fire Nation? They could at least have parties. Or something. ]

[markofthewise]

Hey, last time I nearly had you. And it's either that or we talk. And you know how that always goes.

[It turns depressing about what they've both lost. Making for a somber evening.]

[unstable]

We're going to be trapped in here for a few days and all we have to do is talk and play Pai Sho? The two of us really need to start getting more creative.

[ The princess crawls on her hands and knees, fetching the pai sho table. She drags it close to the fire and sets up the tiles, setting her elbows on the edge of the table as she holds her head up with her hands. ]

Or I'll just beat you again. Woo. So much fun.

[markofthewise]

[He begins setting the pieces in their appropriate tiles. He's come to know this old board quite well. As always, he uses the lotus tile that was given to him by Piandao.]

Well if you've got any ideas, I'd love to hear them, Azula. Would you like to cuddle by the fire instead?

[unstable]

Oh, yes, that sounds just lovely.

[ She rolls her eyes, setting her hands on her knees as he sets up the board. ]

That's just how I would like to spend our days, in your arms by the fire. This arrangement will blossom into a romance where we do nothing but stare into each others eyes and repopulate the earth with weird little children.

[markofthewise]

[The grimace on his face is obvious. Mostly because in the past, he's actually thought about it. After all, who else was there?]

Trust me. I'm holding out on finding another girl I can repopulate the world with.

[unstable]

[ Azula's attention focuses on him as she narrows her eyes, setting her hands on the board in front of her. ]

Are you, now? What's wrong with me?

[ Not that anything like this would ever happen between them. ]

[markofthewise]

[He raises an eyebrow. He really shouldn't be surprised. It was pretty rude, yet...]

Well, I mean. I'm not yet convinced you aren't evil. [Though unlike before, he was open to the idea of her not being evil. Progress.] Besides. We don't even like each other.

[unstable]

[ She crosses her arms over her chest and looks over at the fireplace. That wasn't a sufficient answer, but she wasn't going to push it. Why should she care? ]

Make the first move.

[markofthewise]

[There was a moment of skeptical pause as Sokka realized that for once his subtle jab wasn't getting turned back on him as he had grown accustomed to.

He made his move. A cautiously moved tile.]

If it helps, I don't think you're really that evil anymore?

[unstable]

[ Ah. The princess watches him move a tile, trying to figure out why it mattered. And she knew why. He was the only person that would ever know her like this, the only person that would ever spend actual time with her. The rest of the world, whoever was still alive within it, hated her. She would never get a chance like this again, a chance to know somebody. As soon as Sokka decided to travel elsewhere, whenever that may be, she would be alone again.

Regardless of her opinion of Sokka, not as a person but of his status (because did it even matter anymore? could she even consider herself a princess?), he was all she had anymore. Not that she wanted to have children with him, or cuddle with him by the fire, but she at least wanted them to like each other. She thought she was doing a good job of trying to be likeable. Would he have ever dreamed of poking fun of her before all the time they had spent together?

Azula stares at the tiles, deciding which route she was going to take for this game as she speaks. ]

I've never been evil.

[ She brushes her fingertips against one for a long moment before moving it. ]

[markofthewise]

[Sokka is at a loss. He knew that this was eating at her. What was stranger was the fact that he could tell. As if a certain familiarity had settled enough that he could read her mood now.

He felt bad for saying something to upset her.]

Yeah, I know. [He moved a different tile forward.] You were doing what you thought was right for the Fire Nation.

[He'd never agree with it or condone it. But it was what it was. And it was in the past, belonging to a world that no longer existed.]

[unstable]

[ He was already losing, or maybe she wasn't judging him properly. Regardless, she moved a tile that was definitely in her favor. ]

Regardless of what you or anyone else thought, I was doing what I knew was right for the Fire Nation. Since you've been here, you haven't seen me string up any defenseless animals or try to hurt you for my own amusement. I was only evil to you then because I was on the opposing side, and you should know better to only see black and white.

[ She sets her hands in her lap and looks back over at the fire. ]

[markofthewise]

Okay, okay. I get it. Honestly? I used to hate you.

[He moves the White Lotus. He has a new tactic in mind by playing on her expectations of him to do poorly. By making it look like he's doing just that.]

But I don't. Not anymore. [He scratches the back of his neck.] I'm not saying that I forgive you or the Fire Nation. But. I don't hold it against you.