[open to all!]

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

The medical care available on Stacy is far beyond anything that the Four Nations had, better even than the powers of skilled waterbenders to heal. Which is why Zuko is lying in discomfort now, not raging agony, as the burn on his back heals.

Because of the location of the injury, he's lying on his stomach on a specialized cot, with his arms supported by low rests below his body. The open welts on his back are not entirely healed, and have been left exposed to the open air to allow the heat to keep fading. Occasionally Zuko breathes out as he uses his own firebending to try to expel some of the burn's excess heat.

He could ask to be put to sleep while the healing process continues, but he hasn't. He has too much to think about.

Comments

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

Zuko would know Hiccup was there because of the footsteps, one of which always sounded different from the other, but also from the sympathetic hiss that came between his teeth when he saw the healing burns, and also because he suddenly saw Hiccup climbing under the table, in between the supports Stacy had holding it up, so that he could talk to Zuko face to face through the hole Zuko's face was stuck through.

Laying on his back there, hands folded over his chest, he said calmly, "This is the only time I'm ever going to say this, because you can't strangle me right now, but what you did was incredibly stupid. You never, ever turn your back on a dragon unless you know they're tamed or restrained, and that goes double for crazy, evil people."

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"You could sit in a chair, you know."

Zuko doesn't exactly look dignified, with his face squished in a donut-pillow.

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

"And have a thrilling conversation with your back? This is fine. Also, you're avoiding my stern lecturing. Let's get back to the part where you turned your back on an enemy, something you've always taught me not to do. Why? How could you take a risk like that?"

Yes, he had some vested interest in that.

"If you got killed, where would I find a teacher that would put up with me?"

Of course, part of that vested interested was selfish.

"Also, there is that whole thing where you're my friend, and I don't want to have to go to your space funeral."

And part of it wasn't.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"It's sweet that you care."

Zuko smirks at Hiccup through the donut-pillow, but in truth, he might actually be touched.

"I had to stop Mai from killing her. Which you're not to tell anyone, or you won't have a teacher anymore, got it?"

Not that Mai would probably be making a secret of wanting Azula dead, but Zuko didn't need others spreading that around the ship, taking Mai's words out of her mouth before she could say them.

"Besides. Now the crew has proof that Azula's as crazy as I say she is. She won't have to put someone else in the hospital before they'll listen to me."

This . . . might have actually been the intended outcome.

Even if Zuko didn't necessarily know it from the start.

[i-saw-myself.livejournal.com]

"So, let me get this straight. You risked your life to prove someone was dangerous, that proof being that it put you in danger, right?"

Hiccup nodded, like he was really very impressed, rubbing his chin, then the expression fled his face instantly, making it clear he was just faking that he was that impressed.

"That's stupid. Because of the you being in danger part."

[j-y-d.livejournal.com]

Nima had pointed him this way, and if he was going to figure out any of the weird airbending shit, he figured he should probably check in on this other 'bender', whatever that way.

"Hey, you doing ok? And who was that chick?"

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

Zuko vaguely recognized the voice - someone who had been there when Azula was restrained. A new guy, so probably someone who hadn't seen his comm post yet.

"I'll be fine."

The burns were nasty, and very visible, but Zuko was used to pain that would fade away soon enough.

He sighs into his donut pillow. "That was Azula. My sister. She's a war criminal from my world, and it's a long story."

Not necessarily one he wants to tell . . . but one he'll have to tell, if he's going to warn the crew about her adequately.

[j-y-d.livejournal.com]

"For good reasons, looks like. And yeah, you looked like you'd taken a hit or ten before. She's brigged up for now, but who knows how long that'll last. If security gives you any shit over it, and you need someone to put in a good word, I saw what happened."

Maybe cause he was checking out Kaya after seeing her talking to Nima. Probably because he saw that other kid with tats like Nima's.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"Thanks. We're going to need that."

Zuko shifts slightly on his bed. It's not dignified, talking to new people with his face in a donut-pillow, but moving around might open some of the blistering on his back, and THAT would be too painful to ignore with any degree of success.

"I think the Council is big on letting people start over here. For some of us, that's a good thing."

Him included.

"But Azula's not going to turn over a new leaf. Not if I know her. She's just going to make herself a danger to anyone she's strong enough to hurt, and that's a lot of people, even here. I need them to know this."

Because she's his responsibility, now. His crazy sister showed up to make his life a lot more difficult.

[j-y-d.livejournal.com]

"No problem. I'm going to be hanging around that other air-bender... Nima, so if you guys need help, I'll be around. I also saw what she could do. I could take her, and will be on guard... but yeah... point taken. I got no idea how long she'll be in the brig for anyway, but I'd imagine some kind'a doc is gonna have to clear her before she goes anywhere."

[knifeurrib.livejournal.com]

Mai tries to find the time to put her thoughts in order on her way down to the medical bay. She's angry; angry with herself for letting Azula getting a shot off at Zuko, angry at Aang for not listening to her and killing Azula when they had the chance, for not protecting Zuko, angry at Zuko for also not listening to her and being stupid enough to turn his back on his sister. Angry at Azula for doing it in the first place. Angry at the whole group for not doing what had to be done.

She's also scared, she has to admit. Scared that Zuko might've ended up dead or badly hurt. He was the only person in the whole world who made her feel the way she did around him. Losing him was not a prospect she wanted to face. Not that anyone looking at the girl would pick up on any of the conflicting emotions - except possibly anger. It was in the way her eyes narrowed just slightly, the very small bit of tension in her jaw and the quick, sharp way in which she walked.

She glides into the medical bay, light on her feet as always. At the sight of Zuko lying on the cot, the angry welts on his back, she stops, eyes flashing. Azula was going to pay for this. She eases up to the bed and puts a hand on Zuko's shoulder, touch soft.

"I thought you said you were fine."

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"The doctors are pretty good here. I can barely feel a thing."

That's not entirely true. He definitely feels pain from the burns, but it's significantly less than he's used to feeling from burns like this.

Still, the soft, pleasant touch of her hand relaxes him and helps him ignore the pain even more. He can focus on that, rather than on the burns, and enjoy the pleasure in spite of the pain.

"I'm sorry. I did another stupid thing. You're probably mad at me now."

He knew better. He knew he knew better. And yet, here he was, injured in a medical wing.

And Azula was in the brig, where she couldn't do this to anyone else who wouldn't be expecting it.

[knifeurrib.livejournal.com]

She's glad to hear those words. It means that he knows he's done something stupid (she doesn't think wrong). And part of her wants to accept that and just make sure he's going to recover from this. To forget about it and let him learn the lesson on his own.

There's another part of her that knows that she can't just let it go. Because if she doesn't confront this problem now, if she doesn't talk about and make him understand why she did what she did, then there will come a time when Azula will have the upper hand again and she'll look back at this moment and regret that she didn't take the chance when she had it.

Mai squeezes his shoulder; it's an affectionate, warm gesture, but there's steel in her grip. She crouches slightly so she can look him in the face when she talks. Her voice is steely; she's angry, after all. However, it's not at the same level as their Boiling Rock argument.

"I'm not angry at you for getting shot, Zuko. I'm angry at you for letting her live and then getting shot. You know how dangerous she is, you know what she's capable of - why didn't you listen to me? If she gets out of the brig, if she gets a chance, you know she'll do her best to kill all of us. Why, Zuko...?"

And despite the anger, there's a bit of fear and sadness in her voice. She's not frightened of Azula, she's frightened of losing him.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"Because if anybody's going to kill her, it had better be me. She's my sister. She's my responsibility."

His voice, slightly muffled through the donut-pillow that supports him, is made a little less serious by it, but what he says is still grave. "I let her live in the Fire Nation. Here isn't any different. But whatever happens, whatever she does, home or here, it's on my shoulders."

Translation: His life just got a LOT more difficult.

"And I'm not letting you get a Punishment over her. No matter how much you think it would be worth it."

A burned back? That's a small sacrifice to make, to get Azula locked up, to show the crew just how dangerous she is. But Punishment, for Azula's life? For Mai?

No. Just, no.

[knifeurrib.livejournal.com]

She has to restrain herself from snapping, but it still comes out a bit bitter, "You can't carry everything on your shoulders, Zuko. Just... get rid of her! Then she won't be a problem! Or make sure she stays in that cell forever, because if she's free to walk around..."

She takes a breath and looks away, eyes narrowed. "I'll take care of it myself."

With or without Zuko's approval. She's not going to let Azula stay a threat. Not if she can help it.

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

She had been in the med bay for two people: one of them was Negi, someone she hadn't seen in a long time, to make sure he was all right. Miraculously, he had overcome whatever darkness had enveloped him, and was surrounded by a lot of his friends. She planned to see him again, but right now she wanted to see the OTHER person in the med bay. She had been reluctant to leave him, abut after assurances from the doctors in med bay (along with blank stares, she WAS in this department from time to time), she'd done so.

But coming back now, she just wanted to make sure he was ok. All the self loathing she had right now, the loneliness and the pain in watching him hurt, she pushed it aside.

"Hey," she said softly. She was already looking over him. "How are you coping?"

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

Hearing Katara - no, not Katara, the girl they thought was Katara - speak just reminds him of that other complication to their current state of affairs.

Something about this girl had him convinced she was Katara, when all of a sudden, it's perfectly clear to him now that she isn't. She's . . . clearly a lot like her, but she's someone else.

It might be fortunate for her that Azula arrived when she did, because despite the confusion about the girl's identity, she's proven one thing very definitely - she's an ally, and she's a good one. And Zuko wants her around if there's ever a fight with Azula again.

"I'm doing all right." He lifts his face up a little bit from his pillow to glance at her. "But - we have to talk about something else, don't we?"

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

She had been worried, but then there was this conversation, one that Kaya was not looking forward to. She had been explaining to all of the people on the ship since she popped again that she was different, that she was Kaya but it would be different telling the Gang. They had knows her as Katara for a long time, and now they knew she wasn't.

What was more, she knew her role with them, but they didn't know who she was, or remember. It was like when Zuko had been brought to the ship as he was looking for Aang, instead of at the end of the war like most of them.

"Me?" She asked. "Yeah, you wouldn't believe how many people have been getting an earful of that today. I wanted to tell you guys, but then I saw Mai and Azula fighting each other so I was a little interrupted."

She fidgeted a little. "I'm not Katara. My name is Kaya, and I'm from the Northern Water Tribe. I do join with you guys, but its after Aang puts down your father. As best as I can figure, because Katara and I shared many similarities, and I trained under her, Stacy thought I was her and planted those memories in me. I've been thinking I was her until about several hour ago."

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

Sokka had been on his way to visit Zuko, make sure his Jerkbender friend had been alright. And walked in on something a bit. . .confusing. It was Katara--except it wasn't Katara, his mind was telling him. And he was beginning to noticed the differences in her face, the way she stood, her hair. She looked similar, but she wasn't the right person. And yet she was familiar. He tried to dredge the name up when she spoke and it came back to him in a brief flash. Kaya, one of Katara's students from the Northern Water Tribe. She'd been with them for a little while, attending the lessons.

But then. . .why had he thought she was sister? He reeled, shook his head as he tried to figure it out.

"Kaya. Not Katara." That's all he can manage. Where's his real sister? Still in the pods?

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

Aang still had red, puffy eyes as he walked in too, and he was still sniffling slightly.

"Okay, now--now that there was Azula, and--and another Airbender, while I try to stop crying constantly, you really, really need to explain how this happened. I caught the first part."

He wiped at his face, which was still sticky.

"When did she do this? Why did Stacy do this?"

[staturity]

Cassie looked over at Zuko and knew exactly how he was feeling. At least physically.

"Anything I can do?" She got out of her own bed and walked over.

And Zuko thought his scars were disfiguring. He only had about a quarter of one face scarred. And his head and neck weren't fused. Couldn't say the same for Cassie, but at least she'd swept her now brushed hair over to hide the fact that she was bald on the left side of her head.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"Thanks, but I'm all right for now."

Zuko doesn't recognize the voice, and he can't quite sit up on his bed enough to see who was speaking, but he has known there was another patient in the room since he got put in, so she doesn't surprise him.

"Who are you?"

[staturity]

"Cassie Lang. I had a bit of a bomb problem so I know a thing or two about burns. Like you're going to want to make sure that doesn't get infected." She kept her voice light as she came closer.

[found-myway.livejournal.com]

"I'm a firebender. I know a thing or two about burns."

He lifts up purposefully and turns his face towards her, so she can see - and his shock at her appearance registers clearly, but briefly, before he gets his expression back under control.

Yeah he's familiar with burns, but . . . woah.

People don't SURVIVE burns like that in the Fire Nation.

[staturity]

Cassie couldn't help but laugh a little at his reaction. Part of it was because of the swell of embarrassment and pain she felt at just how bad she must look and she needed some way to get the anxiety out. The rest of it was just how clueless Zuko had been until turning to see her.

"So you sure you don't want any help? Because they're not in an easy to reach place."