[Being a hostage sucks - Closed to Aang]

[kungfu-sexnun.livejournal.com]

After briefly being a hostage, Nima is feeling a little shaken. But the herd of glowsloths are even more shaken, huddling together on the scorchmarked rocks that are serving as their temporary habitat.

Nima returns to the herd as quickly as she can, once the firebender has let her go, checking the animals for burns and calming them as best she can. Zuko scared them pretty badly, but he didn't actually burn any of them. Still, the glowsloths are bioluminescing in jagged, angry patterns, and jumping from rock to rock.

When the animals, and Nima, are calm, she stays with the herd. The littlest of the creatures is splayed over her lap, and Nima pets it while the herd's largest female picks through her hair. Nima allows it, sniffling occasionally, while the other glowsloths huddle nearby, twitchy and wary.

Comments

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"Sister Nima!"

Aang swooped in with a rush of air that sent his robes rippling, and dropped to his knees next to her among the glow-slothes, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry, Nima. Are you hurt?"

He knew she wasn't used to this. People taking hostages and such. She was from a time that was still peaceful.

[kungfu-sexnun.livejournal.com]

The glowsloths, by now well-trained to recognize flying, arrow-patterned humans as sources of food and affection, scatter briefly before returning to gather around Aang at his arrival. The large female brushes many-jointed fingers over Aang's scalp, perturbed by a lack of hair to groom.

Nima wraps her arms around Aang back. There's no shame to her in expressing her confusion and discomfort. Somebody threatened her animals for no reason. It was senseless and violent and the reason was probably stupid.

"That was very upsetting!"

Thank goodness for Brother Aang. The glowsloths are cuddly, but there's no comfort like that from another human who can communicate on your level.

"He didn't hurt me, but he firebent at the animals and threatened to hurt them if I didn't go with him and it was just - it was dumb and it upset me!"

Now her emotional harmony is all out of balance. Baww.

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

Aang was perfectly comfortable being touched and prodded at by animals, so he simply hugged her, then settled in at her side, among the sloths.

"Zuko's gone a little crazy," Aang explained. "He didn't used to be our friend. He changed over time, and became a better person, and helped us fight to restore balance to the world. Right now, it's like he's forgotten all that. He would never make that choice willingly, so we know he's sick somehow. He wouldn't have actually hurt you, though."

He'd always been the same good person under there, honorable enough to not do unnecessary harm.

The sloths, on the other hand, Aang wasn't entirely sure about, but he left that unsaid.

"What's important is they're okay and you're okay."