dramadramaduck | attempt number twenty-one ♻ (voice)

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claire bennet

attempt number twenty-one ♻ (voice)

Travel tip: if any of you have plans to head the way of the Fire Nation, I suggest brushing up on your … I don't even know. What this is, Japanese? Chinese? The books are all in Chinese. I don't know if this elaborate blob of ink is supposed to mean elephant, oak tree, or "simmer for fifteen minutes or until golden-brown."

[ There's a sigh, followed by a thumping noise as she tosses the book aside. ] I guess I should be focusing on catching up on my own books, anyway. I've got like a million chapters of Spanish to catch up on, and Nietzche doesn't read itself.

Oh, and also? Don't let seasons fool you. It's always warm here. I swear, it's like fifty degrees warmer here than it was in Washington. Which, don't get me wrong, is a good thing. Awesome, even. [ Of course, that might have something to do with the volcano that the castle is on. Which is ... a tiny fact she hasn't picked up on. ]

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Someone really, really desperate. The kind of desperate that makes them think it's okay to just kidnap someone to whine about their problems to instead of making a friend the real way.

...Did he really do that?

More than once. [ her tone grows detached, quieting. ] The first time, he pumped my mother full of adrenaline until her own fire killed her.

[This is not the generic complaining that he was expecting. Zuko's expression crumples into empathy.]

Your mother, that's how... I'm sorry. I don't see why you'd want to help someone like that.

[ she shakes her head. ]

That's my point. I don't want him to kill anymore -- I want him to get better, but not because I think he deserves it or because I want to help him. I just don't want that happening to anyone else. I'd be happy even if he just died and that was why he stopped killing people. I ... was happy. When I thought that's what had happened.

The happiest I've been in a long time. [ she looks kind of guilty for that. why is everything in the world so complicated. ]

[That doesn't phase him at all; he focuses on practical concerns.] I thought you told me that time [that Azula mentioned my mother's head getting ripped off] that you know of a way to take someone's abilities away. Why can't you do that to him?

Because it's hard to force someone to do it. They're pills, you have to swallow them and take them for a long time before it starts working. Besides. [ she shakes her head. ] The Company makes them and if the Company knew he were alive, they'd just want him dead.

[ but it is worth considering. maybe that was all he needed -- to be rendered impotent. if he would agree to take them willingly it might even reaffirm that he was serious about this whole thing. ]

[He hesitates for a moment, but ultimately says,] Aang knows how to seal bending. He did it once, at least; he might be able to do it again.

I don't know if it'd work on people from your world, but... if it ends up coming to it, we can always try. I'm sure he'd help.

I'll try and talk to him about it.

It's worth a shot. And Claire... [He looks at her seriously.] What he does isn't your responsibility. If he wants to change, he'll have to own up to the things that he's done.

[ Frown. She looks a little cornered and vulnerable mostly because how did he know she was still ... pinning that on herself. 8( Dammit. ]

... Yeah. I guess it's just a little hard to see that sometimes.

[Because that's what he would do. He's familiar with guilt, okay.]

You want to save people. That's a good thing.

It doesn't feel like a good thing. Especially when I never seem capable of actually doing it.

My mother told me something once, a long time ago, before my father exiled her. [He leans forward, elbows on his knees, hands loosely together and looking at the ground.] She said that I'm someone who keeps fighting even when it's hard, no matter how many times I fail.

[Zuko looks up at Claire again.] I've always tried to live up to that, to make her proud, even though I never thought I'd see her again. The only way you really fail is if you stop trying. You'll get there eventually; Sylar is just an obstacle.

A pretty big obstacle, all things considered. But ... you're right. I can't just give up or stop trying. Somebody has to deal with him, and somewhere along the way, I guess it kind of became my job.

You'll figure it out. I said you would last time, and you will this time, too.

Thanks, Zuko. Having someone I can actually talk to about this stuff makes it ... well, it's a lot easier.

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attempt number twenty-one ♻ (voice)

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