Zuko · 蘇科 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
flammatory) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
barrayar2017-01-16 04:47 pm
flammatory) wrote in barrayar2017-01-16 04:47 pm
idk I guess I still play this dumb asshole
Tag me or something. Let me know if you have a preference for canon point (I usually default to post-show with some comics inspo). Also feel free to comment blank and I'll make a prompt.
I love Sokka the Companion
Alberich cultivates a particular reputation for himself, and is thus entirely inclined not to trust anything he hears about others. A reputation is easy to craft out of existing rumors, fears, and exaggerated incidents. Most people are not fortunate enough to craft their own, many are saddled with what their enemies make for them, intentionally or not. Alberich only half-controls his, and that only in Haven. He can only imagine what Zuko would have heard in Karse. A witch and a traitor. Likely they say that he set fire to that shed (or maybe it would be a village in the telling), rather than barely escaping from it. Possibly at this point they say he sabotaged the campaigns he led, making his supposed betrayal all-encompassing.
Alberich suspects that Zuko will prove not to be a zealot, nor someone who is simply running away (as some rumors have suggested). He suspects that Zuko will prove to be a young man who throws himself into a cause, and has, perhaps, learned the importance of examining that cause first.
The boy seems as tightly wound as some of the court ladies' hair when he comes in. Alberich is pleased to note the bow, though - there is always a risk with nobility.
:The poor thing's terrified of you: Kantor says with amusement.
:Well, we'll have to find out for which reasons:
"Herald Alberich," he says in Valdemaran. He wants a sense of how comfortable Zuko is with the language before they switch over, if they do. He raises his eyebrows by just a hint. "But I'm sure you already know that."
He turns, gesturing for the boy to follow him. "My office is this way. You will be tested in the salle, but not yet."
let's return to an AU crossover of two series I haven't canon reviewed in 5+ years
It's new enough having a Companion that Zuko hasn't gotten used to that yet. He gets lost in his own head so easily, like he's slipping bit by bit down a rockslide into a dark cavern, painstakingly slowly, and all his attempts to scramble back up make things worse... and then Sokka cuts in with something irreverent and it jolts him out of it.
He can't imagine giving this up. Zuko frankly hasn't bothered to fathom unconditional support since his mother disappeared. He would endure a lot more than exile in a land of demons and having to pass muster with a fellow traitor, even if he does miss his uncle.
He tells himself all this, but he's still jittery with nerves, and as he follows Alberich toward his office, his accent in Valdemaran thickens, hampered by his self-consciousness. But his grammar is smooth, proving he isn't as terrible a student as he always thinks he is in comparison to Azula. "Do we even really know anything about each other beyond our names?" he complains crossly, defaulting to agitated as always. "I hope you're not planning on testing me on that first, because half of everything I've ever learned has been a lie."
it's rp, baby
At least the boy has seems to have the grammar down. The language won't be an issue, just everything else.
It isn't, actually, an office that Alberich leads Zuko to. He does have an office, of course, but it's cramped and airless. In light of the trainee's agitation, Alberich decides to treat his sitting room as the office today.
The room they turn into is furnished sparsely, but with old, heavy wooden furniture of high quality. A couch and a few upholstered chairs sit near the fireplace, and there is in fact a desk in one corner, a shelf next to it holding a small collection of books. But the dominating feature is a large stained-glass window. The design is unmistakable to any follower of Vkandis - the sun in glory, though it's laid out against a rich, peaceful blue rather than the red favored by the Sunpriests of Karse.
Alberich doesn't gesture for Zuko to sit. Another test of how the prince will react. Instead, he walks over to the hearth and hooks the kettle above the fire. "Tea? I have it from one of the Sunpriests in the city."
:Killing him with kindness?:
:I doubt anyone else has tried: Alberich's response is more mournful than dry.
no subject
Zuko's eyes dart immediately to the stained glass window, and he pauses briefly before standing awkwardly, and tensely, some feet away, facing his instructor. He's surprised they let Alberich have such a flagrant display of religion, and then Alberich goes even further.
"There's Sunpriests in the city?" he repeats dumbly, his sensibilities still firmly set in the perspective of outlawing foreign influences. "Uh... sure." Zuko does not actually want tea, but he accepts automatically, used to his uncle forcing it on him. It's usually easier to accept and not drink it than make a fuss. And he desperately wants to make a good impression, while simultaneously being miserably sure that's not possible.
:You should really give people more of a chance to not hate you before getting all wet cat on them,: Sokka cuts in cheerfully.
:Like that's going to happen. I'm lucky they didn't kill me on sight.:
no subject
Trainee Zuko, of course, will not be able to escape drawing attention. Captain Alberich, a man of no political consequence, had drawn more than enough himself. He has been accepted, more or less - the benefit of serving in combat on Valdemar's behalf, and of making himself a niche in which he's proven his skill (and which very few people think to consider him outside of). But there's still mistrust, from some quarters. The older nobles and the border lords. People whose families were killed in wars with Karse or the Tedrels. And that's for Weaponsmaster Alberich, the simple warrior. Not Prince Zuko. Valdemar is an accepting land, for the most part, but he will not pretend Zuko has a smooth road before him.
But he will, at least, have the Companions and Heralds to accompany him on it. They trust Alberich. And they know that if another Karsite has been Chosen, he can be trusted too.
no subject
In the present moment, he struggles to parse and accept the reality of Valdemar. "Don't worry, I'm used to drawing attention," he answers flatly, folding his arms. "Not like I can hide who I am with this scar." The Crown Prince, now an infamous traitor, having a giant burn scar on his face is certainly both memorable and identifiable even to those who've never met him.
Some of his floundering uncertainty becomes obvious, Zuko terrible as always at hiding his feelings. "... We can go to the temple if we want?" That seems obvious from the window, but Zuko is having a hard time figuring out what he has to let go of about Karse and what he can keep. He's never been an especially religious person, but the royal family, of course, knows every ritual and ceremony backwards and forwards and frequently has their own unique place in them. There's a comfort in that familiarity, and in knowing the rules.
Zuko slowly meanders over to a chair not next to Alberich and tentatively sits.
no subject
Alberich considers the prince's scar. It's true that even with expert makeup, Zuko's only chance to escape notice would be with a hood, very poor lighting, and luck (Alberich himself still can't manage to fully hide his scars in sunlight). But then, he suspects part of why the prince was Chosen was to be visible.
:I couldn't comment on that.: Kantor says, his mental voice the equivalent of an innocent whistle.
"Not yet. It will be some time before you can leave the Palace grounds." The distrust of some and the look of things still has weight. "But in time. And the priests may always visit us here."
how the fuck does mlackey manage convo vs. companion
It's going to be a lot of new experiences here, that's for sure.
"It doesn't matter," he replies, looking aside, inadvertently embodying a sullen teenager despite his very real reasons to feel morose and bitter. Zuko at least sounds subdued, hands gripping the cloth of his gray trainee pants. He still thinks they should be red; he's not hiding. "I know they didn't have to let me be here. I'm supposed to be a Herald-Trainee. What do I need to do?"
His language is more revealing than he intends: supposed to be. Zuko is still skeptical he won't be tossed out on his ear if he takes a single step out of line.
:You think that because your dad is a total dick. It won't be like that. I Chose you - they can't kick you out!:
:There's a first time for everything, and I'm really good at finding ways to fail.:
:I'm still not saying it'll happen, but you know I'd go with you, right? If you had to leave?:
Zuko, distracted in this conversation, stares down at his knees and lets his intense upswelling of gratitude answer for him. There aren't really words for how that makes him feel, anyway.