Tea for My Uncle
Sozu continues to make the rounds, this time, engaging in a further discussion with Yan about honor, and the Fire Nation.
Unless given some task by Tram Avatar, Yan will spend his time sitting
atop the tower of the Temple, meditating.
Well, that makes finding him rather difficult. Eventually, after checking everywhere else, Sozu checks up there; when she finally finds the Earthbender, on top of a tower, she's naturally a bit confused. "... what's brought you all the way up here? Communion with the sky?"
The way she says it, slightly sarcastic and slightly acerbic, make it clear she doesn't think this even possible; why would Yan want to commune with the sky, of all things?
"I don't think the students have worked out how to get up here yet. A
few moments peace are more valuable than gold." This is not said as a
jab at her intrusion, just a statement. She can take it as she
wishes.
"The stairs are out of repair," she comments, as though it were some form of agreement, emphasis on the "are" bit. She clears her throat quietly, and then, "You were right, by the way."
He blinks, "I was? About what in particular."
"I think you were, at least. About the difference--" she stops momentarily. "The honor in obeying orders and the honor in refusing them."
"Obeying a just order is as honorable as disobeying an unjust one.
It's in seeing the difference that the real test of a man or woman
lays."
"Tell me, Sozu, do you think the order that Tsung received was the
standard or an exception? The oder to destroy everyone in a
village..."
"Did he recieve that order? Well--it doesn't matter if he did personally... Orders like that were given and obeyed, of that I have no doubt. I would like to believe they were rare, the exception and not the rule, but, I don't know that it's true."
"They were rare. At least from what I saw and what I heard they were
rare. The average man doesn't want to rape and pillage. Give that
man an excuse and you may see a monster born.
"Was Tsung given an order to murder the village? It's possible. It's
even likely. But that probably wasn't the original intent. Somewhere
along the way words were twisted to fit someones wishes. When the
wrong man is given power, the wrong orders are given. When he's told
to take a village, he hears what he wants.
"Then again, Ozai was evil... He could have just started ordering the
deaths of innocents."
"He did. By the end, he did. I have very few illusions about the goal of his mission on the day of Sozin's Comet."
And that leaves a profoundly sour taste in her mouth
"Few people do."
((Did Yan just call Sozu people... Acknowledgement of honor and
recognition as a person in the same day... woah...))
She gives a sharp, quiet laugh at that. "And yet we never said anything beforehand. For the honor of obedience."
"That's something you'll have to look inside to deal with."
Sozu tenses a little - like a prickly Pygmy puma - "I'm sure you're well-versed in that as well,"she says, with inflections of a very princessly nature, a sort of 'you dare tell me how to do that'.
"I've faced my monsters. I keep them very close to the surface. You've been on edge since that conversation started. It's a dangerous place to live."
"And a useful place," she adds -- not corrects, because dangerous it is, indeed.
Yan nods, "At times. People seem to try to keep me from it more often
than not. You seem to be in control as much as possible... ceramics
aside. I thought you might appreciate the warning."
"You're warning me that... I'm nearly at the point of losing that control? That you notice that I'm on edge? Or that to be unchecked is to be very, very dangerous?"
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."
"Useful."
"I try. Is there anything you need from me? Perhaps thoughts on
where to search for airbenders after this mess? An better explanation
for what happened back in Omashu, maybe? I'm not the thinker in this
group, I work off of instinct. I try to leave the puzzles up to you
people."
"Thoughts on the air benders?" She seems intrigued by that. "I can also leave you to your meditation." You know, that more precious than gold business. The offer is a real one - not just a polite and meaningless gesture.
"I'm giving you a chance to blow off steam or use me as a sounding
board. These will be rare. Take advantage of it if you wish."
"I don't think you entirely know what blow off steam entails."
"I spend whatever free time I have either in the pilot's cabin of the death trap or on her roof. I've seen enough damaged ceramics to have at least a hint. Perhaps, sometime, you should try something that doesn't involve explosive violence."
Sozu seems less than amused at the judgment of her temper - and her plate-breaking - which really, sometimes that's accidental and if Oma didn't leave as many spare plates lying around there wouldn't be nearly as many broken. "Oh? And how does that work for you?"
"Not exploding at people? It tends to work out alright. I usually
meditate somewhere quiet when I've got the urge to tear someone's
spine out."
"I meant the knee-jerk response to attack anyone Fire Nation who isn't busily waving a white flag or having tea with Bumi. "
"My knee-jerk response is to distrust. Usually with that distrust
comes some reason to resort to violence. Not always. Case in point:
you."
She shrugs. "So I resort to temper and you resort to mistrust."
"That seems about the thick and the thin of it."
As is usual when she and Yan come to an agreement, Sozu feels vaguely discomforted. Which makes her stiff and slightly more formal.
"I'll leave you to your meditations. But... One more thing. If you should have to fight Zeng tomorrow, I wouldn't recommend starting with your rock bullets."
"I'll keep the advice in mind, though I was planning on having back-up."
Pausing amoment he realizes that he's not saying much with that. "I
mean, I wasn't planning on being the primary agressor."
Sozu nods, although she's slightly surprised. "... That's fair."
Unless given some task by Tram Avatar, Yan will spend his time sitting
atop the tower of the Temple, meditating.
Well, that makes finding him rather difficult. Eventually, after checking everywhere else, Sozu checks up there; when she finally finds the Earthbender, on top of a tower, she's naturally a bit confused. "... what's brought you all the way up here? Communion with the sky?"
The way she says it, slightly sarcastic and slightly acerbic, make it clear she doesn't think this even possible; why would Yan want to commune with the sky, of all things?
"I don't think the students have worked out how to get up here yet. A
few moments peace are more valuable than gold." This is not said as a
jab at her intrusion, just a statement. She can take it as she
wishes.
"The stairs are out of repair," she comments, as though it were some form of agreement, emphasis on the "are" bit. She clears her throat quietly, and then, "You were right, by the way."
He blinks, "I was? About what in particular."
"I think you were, at least. About the difference--" she stops momentarily. "The honor in obeying orders and the honor in refusing them."
"Obeying a just order is as honorable as disobeying an unjust one.
It's in seeing the difference that the real test of a man or woman
lays."
"Tell me, Sozu, do you think the order that Tsung received was the
standard or an exception? The oder to destroy everyone in a
village..."
"Did he recieve that order? Well--it doesn't matter if he did personally... Orders like that were given and obeyed, of that I have no doubt. I would like to believe they were rare, the exception and not the rule, but, I don't know that it's true."
"They were rare. At least from what I saw and what I heard they were
rare. The average man doesn't want to rape and pillage. Give that
man an excuse and you may see a monster born.
"Was Tsung given an order to murder the village? It's possible. It's
even likely. But that probably wasn't the original intent. Somewhere
along the way words were twisted to fit someones wishes. When the
wrong man is given power, the wrong orders are given. When he's told
to take a village, he hears what he wants.
"Then again, Ozai was evil... He could have just started ordering the
deaths of innocents."
"He did. By the end, he did. I have very few illusions about the goal of his mission on the day of Sozin's Comet."
And that leaves a profoundly sour taste in her mouth
"Few people do."
((Did Yan just call Sozu people... Acknowledgement of honor and
recognition as a person in the same day... woah...))
She gives a sharp, quiet laugh at that. "And yet we never said anything beforehand. For the honor of obedience."
"That's something you'll have to look inside to deal with."
Sozu tenses a little - like a prickly Pygmy puma - "I'm sure you're well-versed in that as well,"she says, with inflections of a very princessly nature, a sort of 'you dare tell me how to do that'.
"I've faced my monsters. I keep them very close to the surface. You've been on edge since that conversation started. It's a dangerous place to live."
"And a useful place," she adds -- not corrects, because dangerous it is, indeed.
Yan nods, "At times. People seem to try to keep me from it more often
than not. You seem to be in control as much as possible... ceramics
aside. I thought you might appreciate the warning."
"You're warning me that... I'm nearly at the point of losing that control? That you notice that I'm on edge? Or that to be unchecked is to be very, very dangerous?"
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."
"Useful."
"I try. Is there anything you need from me? Perhaps thoughts on
where to search for airbenders after this mess? An better explanation
for what happened back in Omashu, maybe? I'm not the thinker in this
group, I work off of instinct. I try to leave the puzzles up to you
people."
"Thoughts on the air benders?" She seems intrigued by that. "I can also leave you to your meditation." You know, that more precious than gold business. The offer is a real one - not just a polite and meaningless gesture.
"I'm giving you a chance to blow off steam or use me as a sounding
board. These will be rare. Take advantage of it if you wish."
"I don't think you entirely know what blow off steam entails."
"I spend whatever free time I have either in the pilot's cabin of the death trap or on her roof. I've seen enough damaged ceramics to have at least a hint. Perhaps, sometime, you should try something that doesn't involve explosive violence."
Sozu seems less than amused at the judgment of her temper - and her plate-breaking - which really, sometimes that's accidental and if Oma didn't leave as many spare plates lying around there wouldn't be nearly as many broken. "Oh? And how does that work for you?"
"Not exploding at people? It tends to work out alright. I usually
meditate somewhere quiet when I've got the urge to tear someone's
spine out."
"I meant the knee-jerk response to attack anyone Fire Nation who isn't busily waving a white flag or having tea with Bumi. "
"My knee-jerk response is to distrust. Usually with that distrust
comes some reason to resort to violence. Not always. Case in point:
you."
She shrugs. "So I resort to temper and you resort to mistrust."
"That seems about the thick and the thin of it."
As is usual when she and Yan come to an agreement, Sozu feels vaguely discomforted. Which makes her stiff and slightly more formal.
"I'll leave you to your meditations. But... One more thing. If you should have to fight Zeng tomorrow, I wouldn't recommend starting with your rock bullets."
"I'll keep the advice in mind, though I was planning on having back-up."
Pausing amoment he realizes that he's not saying much with that. "I
mean, I wasn't planning on being the primary agressor."
Sozu nods, although she's slightly surprised. "... That's fair."