You're Ru. Ruby - it's the name he gave you, because he was so worried about you. Temporary but... all of this - it's only temporary, until we get everything back.
[but the sound of her words just manages to make him frown, if only because he wishes that there was something he could do to resolve her pain. he's not sure if there is, but.
at the very least, he can try.]
... he asked me a favor last week. I think I would've completed it even without the tasks in play but...
He told me that it was important.
He wanted me to look after you, because he's worried about you.
[ that's what he said, too, she thinks. he came up with the name, like a cool secret identity. he was going to hold onto it for her. she closes her eyes again, curling in on herself. hiccups. ]
He got on me about it yesterday. [ she says, voice low and pained. ] I'm not supposed to - sometimes I forget to let him help me.
Because he was worried that you were taking on too much by yourself....
You're capable, Ru. You're strong, smart, and he told me that you're always great at fixing things. Even this - you're probably looking for ways to fix it, right?
... but you don't have to fix things alone. You're not by yourself. I'm not as great as you are -
But I am right here, and I'm not going anywhere. Even if you forget me, or I forget you, I'm going to find you again - because we're best friends.
And you and Taako?
You're half of each other and you hold onto each other's entire hearts.
So I'm certain that one way or another, this too will be resolved.
[ there's a part of her that wants to push him over and run. she wants to take all those compliments and sincerities and bury them away because it feels too big, too much to deal with, too much to hope for. it doesn't always feel true, even if she talks a big game. it's a protagonist speech and she --
well. she doesn't hate them. she can't. this isn't her. she's not the type of person to lack confidence. she didn't spend twelve years in an umbrella to give up like this.
let him help, she tells herself, dragging in a breath. it hurts. but taako trusts him to help, enough to ask a favor. so. ]
One way or another. [ she repeats, quietly. ] I don't care what I have to do.
[he knows that lup will do anything in order to re-establish this bond between herself and taako, in order to bring the memory of her back to her brother. he doesn't doubt it, not for even a single moment.
but he'll move to finally bring them back to the inn, opening the door to his room and then carrying her inside before depositing her on a bed where she might be more comfortable.]
We're going to make it alright somehow, Ru.
But if it ever gets too hard and we're apart - come get me. I'll always make time and space in my life for you.
[ . . . . there's just a soft smile at that, and he'll move to let her take his arm. it's a slow movement where he goes to lay beside her, and reaches out to tuck her hair behind her ear.]
... okay.
I'll keep trying to get better, at learning how to take care of you. Please be patient with me, too but... at least I'm a quick learner.
[he seems to agree with this plan easily enough. lup sure has been through the fucking wringer lately, so he doesn't mind it if she gets a chance to relax. and if there's anything he can do to help that - ]
... I don't want to be in my room. I don't really know Izumo and I don't really care to.
[ she's too tired to be nice. ] I was going to just try and see if I could steal one of the empty rooms, but I wouldn't mind staying here if you two don't care.
I don't know her that well myself so.... I'll speak with Sora - but I'm sure it'll be fine. You can have my bed.
[his bunk,, bed,,,]
I still have all the animal costumes I stole last week to make a nest for myself and Zuko, so that should work out fine. Stay as long as you like - our home is your home.
I'll just sleep with Sora. Wouldn't be the first time. I'd say I could sleep in your bed with you but I think you might die even with me suggesting it.
[he'll go do that and RUN, no just kidding he leaves at a normal pace to go and make coffee for both of them. it's not as good as his tea, but hopefully the amount of creamer and sugar will obscure that anyway.
he'll wander back in, but not notice a bubble floating right in front of the door before he moves to close it]
In the quiet of the palace library, no one will come to bother you, for they know the way that you can toil away for hours on end with every book that lines the shelves. A guard waits outside, and so you know you are being watched – for as long as you could remember, you are being watched.
It begins: Father has succumbed to the Crimson Illness. I, too, will lose my life to it one day. If only I hadn’t been born with the Crimson Dragon King’s blood.
And in that moment, you know you will die.
Everything clicks into place: the constant headaches that Mother suffered, the way she would collapse on the grounds of the garden, how over the course of a few years her health continued to worsen until she grew pale and sickly until one day she was simply – gone.
For the sake of understanding, you continue to read.
Our lineage goes back to the time of myths. We’re said to be the descendants of the Crimson Dragon King, the god who created this country. It’s nothing to write home about…. We’re just ordinary people. We have no special abilities. If anything is special about us, it’s that half or more of the family have been afflicted by an incurable illness.
Father used to say it was something put in place by the Dragon Gods to summon the Crimson Dragon King back to heaven. “So don’t be sad about it,” he’d say.
We, who protect this blood, must exist for the sake of society, right? If we don’t maintain this mindset, our family won’t be able to stand firm. We’ll just be a bunch of people who inherited a short lifespan.
The action is minute – the way that your fingers curl onto the parchment all the tighter. An action that can’t be seen from the guard’s view, won’t raise alarm, and even now you look like you’re only reading.
When instead you are forced to face the facts that your Mother had no clue of:
There is no importance to this accursed bloodline. The words echo hollowly in your own ears, ‘You are not the Crimson Dragon King.’
No legend will protect you. The gods never wanted to protect your family. You have only your own two hands, your aching heart, and the time you have left remaining.
“Your Majesty.” A voice at the door calls out to you, and you find yourself pausing in your reading – you want to continue, oh so badly do you want to know the rest of your mother’s words but.
If there is anything that can ruin the visage of a king that you must present, it would be this.
You close the book, place it aside with reverence, and turn to leave.
You are a dead man walking, but no one needs to know that.
ah.
soo-won thinks it's lucky then, that he's the one holding onto the cups because in the moment that follows - he doesn't drop them. he only seems to falter the slightest bit.
and then he looks more to lup, expression concerned over her reaction to what she just saw]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Yeah? Maybe for you there's no rush. [ she says, but there's no venom, despite the laugh. ] I couldn't even tell him who I am.
I don't even know my own fucking name.
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You're Ru. Ruby - it's the name he gave you, because he was so worried about you. Temporary but... all of this - it's only temporary, until we get everything back.
[but the sound of her words just manages to make him frown, if only because he wishes that there was something he could do to resolve her pain. he's not sure if there is, but.
at the very least, he can try.]
... he asked me a favor last week. I think I would've completed it even without the tasks in play but...
He told me that it was important.
He wanted me to look after you, because he's worried about you.
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He got on me about it yesterday. [ she says, voice low and pained. ] I'm not supposed to - sometimes I forget to let him help me.
... He asked you to do that? [ wow. ]
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[his voice is soft then, reassuring.]
Because he was worried that you were taking on too much by yourself....
You're capable, Ru. You're strong, smart, and he told me that you're always great at fixing things. Even this - you're probably looking for ways to fix it, right?
... but you don't have to fix things alone. You're not by yourself. I'm not as great as you are -
But I am right here, and I'm not going anywhere. Even if you forget me, or I forget you, I'm going to find you again - because we're best friends.
And you and Taako?
You're half of each other and you hold onto each other's entire hearts.
So I'm certain that one way or another, this too will be resolved.
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well. she doesn't hate them. she can't. this isn't her. she's not the type of person to lack confidence. she didn't spend twelve years in an umbrella to give up like this.
let him help, she tells herself, dragging in a breath. it hurts. but taako trusts him to help, enough to ask a favor. so. ]
One way or another. [ she repeats, quietly. ] I don't care what I have to do.
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[he knows that lup will do anything in order to re-establish this bond between herself and taako, in order to bring the memory of her back to her brother. he doesn't doubt it, not for even a single moment.
but he'll move to finally bring them back to the inn, opening the door to his room and then carrying her inside before depositing her on a bed where she might be more comfortable.]
We're going to make it alright somehow, Ru.
But if it ever gets too hard and we're apart - come get me. I'll always make time and space in my life for you.
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she lays on her side, pulling her robes around her, and then, quietly: ]
You don't have to lay it on so thick, Bougie.
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Am I saying the wrong thing? I'm sorry....
[but even so, he'll just sit by her, offering his hand out, palm up in case she wants to take it.]
... maybe I'm just - worried if I don't repeat it, and prove it, you won't believe me.
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It's not that I don't. [ she says, with a sigh. ] You can prove it without beating me over the head with it.
[ she's being mean, but she did lose her shit in front of him. it's not something she'll let many people see. ]
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... okay.
I'll keep trying to get better, at learning how to take care of you. Please be patient with me, too but... at least I'm a quick learner.
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[ she'll just be blunt! she lets him lay down, and when he tucks her hair behind her ear, her ear twitches. almost like a cat's. ]
... Yesterday, Taako said I need to take more time for myself. So I'm going to do that today.
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[he seems to agree with this plan easily enough. lup sure has been through the fucking wringer lately, so he doesn't mind it if she gets a chance to relax. and if there's anything he can do to help that - ]
Do you want me to make you anything? Tea? Lunch?
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Uh - sure. Coffee? Just load it up with sugar and cream.
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Of course, Your Majesty.
[a beat]
Anything else? I can go see if I can get blankets, if you'd like to stay with us for the night, or longer. I'm sure Sora would understand.
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... I don't want to be in my room. I don't really know Izumo and I don't really care to.
[ she's too tired to be nice. ] I was going to just try and see if I could steal one of the empty rooms, but I wouldn't mind staying here if you two don't care.
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I don't know her that well myself so.... I'll speak with Sora - but I'm sure it'll be fine. You can have my bed.
[his bunk,, bed,,,]
I still have all the animal costumes I stole last week to make a nest for myself and Zuko, so that should work out fine. Stay as long as you like - our home is your home.
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[ she rolls her eyes. ]
I'll just sleep with Sora. Wouldn't be the first time. I'd say I could sleep in your bed with you but I think you might die even with me suggesting it.
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he already looks a little embarrassed given that he's blushing but]
.... if - it would bring you comfort...
I don't... know how much room we'd have but—
[he won't? deny her something that she wants?]
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Stop. Sora won't mind me sleeping in his space. You can have your bed so you don't fucking open your stitches again by sleeping on the floor!
Maybe one of the nights this week we can see if you can manage me in your bed. [ stop, don't tease him ]
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You are such a dork. Mentally prepare - I don't have cooties, what the fuck.
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[please stop being so fucking stupid]
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Go get me coffee.
[1/2]
[he'll go do that and RUN, no just kidding he leaves at a normal pace to go and make coffee for both of them. it's not as good as his tea, but hopefully the amount of creamer and sugar will obscure that anyway.
he'll wander back in, but not notice a bubble floating right in front of the door before he moves to close it]
Here, I hope that this is acceptable—
[pop!]
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You are eighteen years old, and you are king.
You are reading your mother’s memoir.
In the quiet of the palace library, no one will come to bother you, for they know the way that you can toil away for hours on end with every book that lines the shelves. A guard waits outside, and so you know you are being watched – for as long as you could remember, you are being watched.
It begins: Father has succumbed to the Crimson Illness. I, too, will lose my life to it one day. If only I hadn’t been born with the Crimson Dragon King’s blood.
And in that moment, you know you will die.
Everything clicks into place: the constant headaches that Mother suffered, the way she would collapse on the grounds of the garden, how over the course of a few years her health continued to worsen until she grew pale and sickly until one day she was simply – gone.
For the sake of understanding, you continue to read.
Our lineage goes back to the time of myths. We’re said to be the descendants of the Crimson Dragon King, the god who created this country. It’s nothing to write home about…. We’re just ordinary people. We have no special abilities. If anything is special about us, it’s that half or more of the family have been afflicted by an incurable illness.
Father used to say it was something put in place by the Dragon Gods to summon the Crimson Dragon King back to heaven. “So don’t be sad about it,” he’d say.
We, who protect this blood, must exist for the sake of society, right? If we don’t maintain this mindset, our family won’t be able to stand firm. We’ll just be a bunch of people who inherited a short lifespan.
The action is minute – the way that your fingers curl onto the parchment all the tighter. An action that can’t be seen from the guard’s view, won’t raise alarm, and even now you look like you’re only reading.
When instead you are forced to face the facts that your Mother had no clue of:
There is no importance to this accursed bloodline. The words echo hollowly in your own ears, ‘You are not the Crimson Dragon King.’
No legend will protect you. The gods never wanted to protect your family. You have only your own two hands, your aching heart, and the time you have left remaining.
“Your Majesty.” A voice at the door calls out to you, and you find yourself pausing in your reading – you want to continue, oh so badly do you want to know the rest of your mother’s words but.
If there is anything that can ruin the visage of a king that you must present, it would be this.
You close the book, place it aside with reverence, and turn to leave.
You are a dead man walking, but no one needs to know that.
ah.
soo-won thinks it's lucky then, that he's the one holding onto the cups because in the moment that follows - he doesn't drop them. he only seems to falter the slightest bit.
and then he looks more to lup, expression concerned over her reaction to what she just saw]
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