Lights — part one
a collection of one-sentence prompts
1-32.
1: 2 am. At yet another palace function, they meet in the gardens to talk, dance, kiss until two in the morning; just inside, a Noblewoman says to another, "I thought the Avatar was going to be here tonight, but I suppose I heard wrong."
2: Metaphor. "Listen guys, dancing isn't something you think about," he said to her once, but now he says between twirls and laughter, "I think about you when I dance."
3: Sky. When they meet again, it's under a setting sun, shoulders hunched, breath heavy; "Hide," she whispers his name.
4: Lost Scene. "I'm so sorry, Aang," cries Katara, retreating down the corridor, off to the Fire Lord's chambers.
5: Degrees. In a room filled with beloved allies and friends, exchanging stories and bantering between themselves about the war, On Ji could not be farther removed; they say little to her, but at least The Duke compliments her shoes.
6: Seize the Day. "But we've got a meeting, Katara," Zuko says judiciously, wishing they didn't — despite his firm tone, she grabs his hand and they run the opposite way as she laughs, "We're taking a detour!"
7: Opposite. In passing, On Ji spies her Fire Lord and his international consort proving that, despite their obvious differences, dark corners and stolen kisses trump anything either of them has to say about how the other is wrong.
8: Passions Run. For the first time, she fights back, hands gripped together and ears ringing with each scream; Katara is, in a moment of rare of occurrence, speechless.
9: Connection. Inside of her, he sees the salvation he can't offer himself; he reaches out and takes it.
10: Lull and Storm. She huddles closer to him, faces revealed in the flicker of their campfire, and closes the distance as the rain begins.
11: Animal. On Ji pretends to listen to prattling noblewomen when she sees him again, tall, gangly and chasing his lemur about the room, threading in and out of finely dressed citizens in hot pursuit.
12: Children. "Will our children," she queries, "be born with these tattoos?"
13: We All Float On. "One day I will be gone, On Ji, and a new Avatar will be born," he says, alight with something she can hardly begin to comprehend, "and I can hardly wait to set it all in motion."
14: Chess. "Were pieces to gamble," he sighs, "bargaining chips to sway a nation this way and that"; but, chips or not, she loves him and she really wishes he would take notice.
15: Duty. "Thank you very much for gathering for today's Xiangqin," says the officiator, grinning proudly between the Avatar and On Ji, one of whom, with a sigh, has slumped over in utter unhappiness.
16: Rip. For the first time, for the very first time, Aang is angry with Katara for all she has and hasn't done, saying with narrowed eyes, "It was you who did this to us, Katara, it was you."
17: Missing Time. Her father rolls his head back, a hand gently pressed to her mother's face as they dance for the first time in years (feet heaving unsurely in what just might be the wrong direction), and they both smile; On Ji wonders whether it is the past or the future she is seeing.
18: Crest. "This is…" she tests the material under her fingers, all oranges and yellows and swirls, and looks to him again unsurely; he answers, "A gift from an Airbender."
19: Itch. "I've got to go," Katara says quietly, eyeing the night sky as the Firebenders see it, "One last time as part of the Water Tribe…the moon is calling me, Zuko; one more time."
20: Explode. "So, this game," Sokka itches the faint stubble growing over his chin, "You Fire People call it Hide-and-Explode?"
21: Rise. "Rise and shine," Aang grins, eyeing the strings of her chocolate tangles, disheveled and sticking out like the fur of an alarmed Porcupossum, "we've got a whole life ahead of us."
22: Crumble. Her childhood is over, crumbled and broken right before her very eyes; she leans down and cries, for it was the one place she had always depended on.
23: Range. "Well, Lady," On Ping lifts the frozen remains of a whicker chair, "Your range has certainly improved."
24: Fight/Flight. She's always been one to face trouble like a rock, firm and headfirst; this time, however, she runs as far away as she can manage.
25: Acid. Hers words and touch, so casual, so familiar and knowing, make it difficult for Katara to hold back the acid in her voices as she asks, "Would you please pass the tea?"
26: Color. Zuko starts, less because of what she says, and more because of the bright green tunic she's tucked her kunai into.
27: Give. In earnest he says, "With them, it was never give-and-take like it should have been; it was him giving everything in the hopes that she would love him half so much as he loved her."
28: Needle. It is the funniest little moment that brings together a friendship that both of them resisted: a pair of Sokka's torn pants and the two girls equipped to mend them.
29: Rocks. "So, Toph," he grins, "I've thought of a new catch-phrase, just for you: Rocks; it's really simple and straight-to-the-point, don't you think?" (while true, it doesn't stop her from punching his gut)
30: Slope. "This temple, it feels like I could fall, like if I don't stand straight I'll just stumble right down," she says, breathless, disoriented; "An Airbender's home," Aang confirms grandly.
31: Correspondence. "How can a letter that only starts with 'Dear Zuko' already sound like I'm stupid," Katara groans at her brother who, in the corner, draws a sky bison with hair loopies; "Probably the Zuko part," and Sokka grins at his own joke.
32: Linger. "Hide, I can't," On Ji says (really, she can't), her breathe feathering his lips, arms tangled in his; it is wrong, she knows, but her shoulders have been so heavy lately, and his shoulders are so, so strong.
Written for Primary Days.
I'm in the middle of planning out the remainder of Primary Days, the OnJiAang story collecting dust on this account. I will continue it independently. I kind of lost inspiration for it, so I ran across a list called "64 Damn Prompts" on LJ and started this one sentence collection. I'll finish the next 32 in the next chapter, so this will more-or-less be a twoshot. All these sentences are mostly set in future chapters, a few in earlier, so they're little spoilers and such to inspire me and hopefully rekindle some hope. Prompts include Aanji, Zutara, angsty Kataang and very light, squinty Tokka. Very squinty. Well, hope you like it!
- C.