TITLE: Once Upon A Time
AUTHOR:
RedNovember
WORDCOUNT:
179
WARNING:
None
CHALLENGE:
#23 Culture Clash (theme stretched)
NOTES: Nothing, except that #6 drabble, "Reason", about Admiral Zhao, won at theavatar100 for the week. Yay. Let's see if this one's any better. BTW, thanks for all the great reviews.
Once Upon A Time
He finally finds her outside, thin shoulders concealed by blue robes drenched from the rain.
"It's so hot here in the Fire Nation," she says, looking out over the garden. Her voice is sing-song, cheerful, like she enjoys the conversation they aren't having. "Too warm. Always too warm. I don't like it." The unceasing downpour turns everything - her, himself, the garden - into a wispy gray landscape.
"And the people - too many people here. I don't like it." The garden is empty but for the two of them and the gentle pattering of the rain; her light voice echoes.
She stands there like a statue, ignorant of the wetness on her face and body. "The heat - the crowds. I can hardly stand it all."
Then she turns, faces him, blue gaze swimming with calm insanity: a mind pushed too far, too fast, too soon. "There's no air left to breathe."
Zuko lifts one hand towards her. "Let's go inside, Katara. It's getting cold."
She shakes her head no slowly, giving him a patronizing smile.
"Too warm. Always too warm."