Healer Visit
Syd-Ni walked through the nobility wing of the institute. The separation was more for the benefit of the families of the residents then the residents themselves as Syd-Ni made sure all residents were treated equally regardless of social rank. Many of the resident nobles were unaware that they received the same high quality of treatment as the farmers and other lower class people who sought help here, and those that were aware, seemed to prefer the simplicity that such a leveled playing field offered. Some even enjoyed working in the garden or other menial tasks that were frowned upon by their social circles outside the institute.
He stopped by the one door in the entire wing, indeed the entire facility, that was different from all the others. This door belonged to Princess Azula and was beautifully decorated with strange animals that represented her split state of mind. Many of the staff and residents here, Syd-Ni included, found the painting to be a pleasant relief from the otherwise bare walls of this place. The board of directors was still arguing over the details of allowing other residents to decorate their doors. Syd-Ni was grateful that they had finally decided to allow it, thanks to the endorsement of the young Fire Lord Zuko. Being the head mind healer only gave Syd-Ni so much weight with the board and they were reluctant to make any policy changes that would be hard to erase if things went wrong.
It was hard to believe the amount of progress Azula had made in the few months since her brother's last visit.. Much of it through the efforts of her Artist persona in trying to help her Gamer persona recover from the stalemate that her game against Zuko had ended in.
When her split personality first manifested it had been easy to tell the two personas apart, even though they both answered to the same name. For one thing, only one persona was ever active and in control of the body at any one time. When one persona was in control the other was in a dormant state. Usually similar to sleep but there had been times where the controlling persona was aware of the dormant persona doing something other than sleep within their shared body. A shift in personas only happened when the controlling persona was faced with something she couldn't handle. Now Azula's personas could both be active at the same time and ofen had conversations with each other. Syd-Ni chuckled to himself as he thought about their session earlier that week. Talking with them got a little confusing at times as they were beginning to pick up each other's personality traits, but Syd-Ni took that as a positive sign.
Getting to this point hadn't been easy though. Even with gentle coaxing from the Artist it had taken the Gamer persona a couple days to get over the shock of that stalemate. Giving the Artist full run of the entire room, not just her side of it. Perhaps that's why the Gamer recovered so quickly. She realized that her walls were being decorated with lions, tigers, and other imaginary creatures. Thus resulting in the first of many fights between the two personas.
Syd-Ni shook himself out of his thoughts. I wouldn't do for people to see him staring at the door of a resident for so long no matter how colorful the paintings on it. He gently knocked on the door.
"Come in," came Azula's voice.
Syd-Ni entered and found the princess was at the work table between the territories carefully painting one of the new game pieces she had made in the workshop. One of the changes made in the months following the stalemate was for the Artist to make new, more detailed pieces for some of her counterpart's games. The original games, along with their rule scrolls, were now in the game room. Except for the original chess set, which both Azulas had given to Syd-Ni as a gift.
"Hello Syd-Ni," Azula said as she finished what, by the coloration, looked like an Earth King chess piece. "I thought we didn't have a session today?"
"Nothing scheduled," Syd-Ni said as he pulled another chair to the table and sat down, "but I had some free time and I thought the two of you might like a visit." It was getting hard to tell which Azula he was talking to without her being on one side or the other of the room. The fact that she had been painting when he came in was becoming less and less of a clue as they were teaching each other their respective skills, and asking her which Azula was talking only resulted in giggles from either or both personas. It was one of the more annoying aspects of her recovery, but Syd-Ni chose to see it as a hopeful sign. "What are you working on?"
"Oh just finishing an Earth King for Azula's chess set. We can now play as any of the four elements."
So it was the Artist persona he was talking with. "Where is she at the moment?"
"Asleep right now. Do you want me to wake her?"
Another change in their respective behaviors. Before, the idea of one persona waking the other scared the Artist and disgusted the Gamer. They behaved more and more like loving sisters each day. "No, not right now. How have the two of you been getting along lately?"
"Pretty good most of the time. She still gloats when she wins sometimes and throws mild tantrums when she loses, but at least that's all she throws."
"That's good. I'd hate to see the new game pieces get chipped after all the work you put into making them." Syd-Ni took a moment to examine the room. "I see she still hasn't let you finish that bird of yours." He was referring to a half finished, long necked creature that was the last in the line of animals burned into the Gamer's side of the room.
"The ostrich? No, she still won't let me finish him. She keeps saying she'll burn him off when she can fire bend again. She likes the cats I made though. She says they're fitting for someone of her power and beauty."
"Well at least she has learned to appreciate some of your animals," Syd-Ni said with a smile. "Only a few months ago she wasn't fond of any of your paintings."
"She thought they were a stupid waste of time," Azula stated, "and we both thought that I was weak."
"Yes, but your brother corrected that misconception, didn't he?"
Azula smiled, "Yeah, He broke her control and helped me to see that I can be strong too. That I had to be strong to help her get better. Now we're both stronger."
"How does your other self feel about that?"
"She still wants a rematch with Zuzu," Azula replied simply.
"What if he ends the game with another stalemate?"
"I think she can handle that now. We've ended a lot of our games in draws and she only panicked the first five times. It still upsets her though."
"Have you ever just let her win?"
Azula was clearly shocked by the idea. "It's very hard to win against her. I'd rather the game end in a draw then lose on purpose. At least then I prove that I'm just as good as she is."
"I understand. She's a very formidable opponent." he glanced over at the time candle. "I'm afraid I have to get back to work soon. Anything you want to ask before I go?"
"When is Father going to visit me?"
Syd-Ni hated when she asked this question. He didn't like lying to those in his care but he knew that the truth at the wrong time could do more harm then good. "I don't know. He is a very busy man after all."
"But he's not the Fire Lord anymore. Zuzu is. So why can't he come visit me?"
Only years of experience kept Syd-Ni from showing his surprise. "Who told you that your brother was the Fire Lord?"
"Azula," she replied. Father made her the Fire Lord but she lost the crown to Zuzu in a game of Ag-Ni-Kai."
Incredible. When anyone else tried to tell her that Zuko was the Fire Lord she would refuse to accept it, get upset, and shut down leaving her other self in control. Clearly the time the two persona had been spending with each other has been more beneficial for both of them than he thought. "Your father made some bad choices during his reign as Fire Lord..."
"So now he's grounded like me?"
"In a manner of speaking." Only the childlike seriousness of her expression kept him from smiling at the image of the once feared Ozai being grounded like a misbehaving child.
"For how long?"
"I honestly don't know. But I will make sure to ask Zuko in my next letter to him. Now I really must be going," he said as he stood to leave. "Anything else?"
"Could you get me writing materials and some sealing wax? We want to write our own letter to Zuzu.
He smiled, "I'm sure he will be thrilled to hear from both of you. See you tomorrow Princess Azula." He bowed and left. Secure in the hope that, one day, she would no longer need his services.
