[Drabble]
Player: emilyyousay
Subject: Azula, Ty Lee
Table: A
Prompt: 024- Taxi
Azula stood with a hand on her hip, arching her eyebrow. "You want to take a what?"
"A taxi!" said Ty Lee excitedly, hopping from one foot to the other. "I know about them from staying with Mikaela. They're those car-things, but a special kind! They drive around the city and anyone who wants to can ride in them, so they don't have to walk."
"So they're like palanquins for commoners?" Azula still looked skeptical. "Are the people here really that lazy?"
"Well, no..." Ty Lee stopped bouncing. "I mean, you ride in palanquins all the time, and you're not lazy."
"Yes, but I'm also royalty," Azula explained. "It's not as if I can't walk, I just don't need to. It's all about status. In some special cases, it's also a safety issue-- I need to have guards around. I doubt either of those things are the case here."
"Probably not. But I guess it's, like, a cultural thing? And we're here to experience the culture!" The thought had not struck Ty Lee until that very moment, but it seemed to make perfect sense. "So we haaaaave to, Azula; please?" She lightly laid a hand on Azula's arm, looking up at her with imploring eyes.
"You know that never works on me," Azula groused, even though it did-- just not in the same way it worked on other people. "Ugh, fine. We'll take one of these "taxis" back to the hotel-- if," she added smugly, "You can find one."
Her hand still on Azula's arm, Ty Lee looked over at the street. "Um, well there's one." She pointed at a bright yellow car. "And another one." She pointed again. "Ooooh, and there's--"
"-- I get it, Ty Lee." Azula interrupted her. "They're all over the place. You've made your point. Do we have to pay them anything?"
"Ummmm..." Ty Lee thought. "I don't think so? I mean, you don't have to pay your palanquin drivers. But we might, so keep some money in your hand or something."
If we had walked, we would have been back at the hotel by now, Azula thought dryly, turning to watch the street with Ty Lee. The yellow cars all passed by, none of their drivers paying any attention to the two girls standing on the sidewalk-- quite a contrast to the royal palanquin bearers, who were always ready and waiting to be of service. "How do we get them to pick us up?"
"Oh! Oh! I know! Let me do it!" Ty Lee jumped off the curb (Azula resisted the impulse to grab her arm, yank her back, and call her an idiot several times), waved both her arms in the air, and screeched, "Taxi! Taxi!"
One pulled out of the traffic and up to the curb fairly quickly, and Ty Lee beamed at Azula. The princess followed her into the backseat of the car with a slight roll of her eyes. Very dramatic, Ty Lee.
"Where to?" The driver didn't even bother to look at them when he spoke, and Azula was (once again) uncomfortably reminded of the fact that her status and position meant nothing here; that people could treat her however they liked. She gave him the address of their hotel in a clipped tone, determined not to be polite to someone who wasn't going to offer her the common courtesy of eye-contact.
"The Four Seasons Hotel, on Wilshire Boulevard."
This time the cabbie turned around, giving her a disbelieving glance. "You sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Her tone was authoritative and commanding, with a dangerous edge that made Ty Lee frown at her a little (she didn't have to be so mean!).
The driver snorted, turning to face forward again. "Hey, whatever floats your boat, kids." He pulled back out into the street, drove exactly one block, and then stopped. "Here you go-- the Four Seasons Hotel."
"Thank you," said Azula smoothly, handing him the amount of money showing on the counter.
When they were out on the sidewalk again, she turned to Ty Lee. "Well? Was that satisfactory?"
"Oh yeah, totally!" Ty Lee grinned at her.
"Hmmm. Enough culture for you for today?"
The other girl squinted. "Are you making fun of me?"
Azula waved a hand, walking towards the hotel doors. "Not really. Let's go inside." Ty Lee followed after her.
"That was fun! Can we do it again tomorrow?"
"What, the taxi ride?"
"Mm-hm!"
"... We'll see."
Subject: Azula, Ty Lee
Table: A
Prompt: 024- Taxi
Azula stood with a hand on her hip, arching her eyebrow. "You want to take a what?"
"A taxi!" said Ty Lee excitedly, hopping from one foot to the other. "I know about them from staying with Mikaela. They're those car-things, but a special kind! They drive around the city and anyone who wants to can ride in them, so they don't have to walk."
"So they're like palanquins for commoners?" Azula still looked skeptical. "Are the people here really that lazy?"
"Well, no..." Ty Lee stopped bouncing. "I mean, you ride in palanquins all the time, and you're not lazy."
"Yes, but I'm also royalty," Azula explained. "It's not as if I can't walk, I just don't need to. It's all about status. In some special cases, it's also a safety issue-- I need to have guards around. I doubt either of those things are the case here."
"Probably not. But I guess it's, like, a cultural thing? And we're here to experience the culture!" The thought had not struck Ty Lee until that very moment, but it seemed to make perfect sense. "So we haaaaave to, Azula; please?" She lightly laid a hand on Azula's arm, looking up at her with imploring eyes.
"You know that never works on me," Azula groused, even though it did-- just not in the same way it worked on other people. "Ugh, fine. We'll take one of these "taxis" back to the hotel-- if," she added smugly, "You can find one."
Her hand still on Azula's arm, Ty Lee looked over at the street. "Um, well there's one." She pointed at a bright yellow car. "And another one." She pointed again. "Ooooh, and there's--"
"-- I get it, Ty Lee." Azula interrupted her. "They're all over the place. You've made your point. Do we have to pay them anything?"
"Ummmm..." Ty Lee thought. "I don't think so? I mean, you don't have to pay your palanquin drivers. But we might, so keep some money in your hand or something."
If we had walked, we would have been back at the hotel by now, Azula thought dryly, turning to watch the street with Ty Lee. The yellow cars all passed by, none of their drivers paying any attention to the two girls standing on the sidewalk-- quite a contrast to the royal palanquin bearers, who were always ready and waiting to be of service. "How do we get them to pick us up?"
"Oh! Oh! I know! Let me do it!" Ty Lee jumped off the curb (Azula resisted the impulse to grab her arm, yank her back, and call her an idiot several times), waved both her arms in the air, and screeched, "Taxi! Taxi!"
One pulled out of the traffic and up to the curb fairly quickly, and Ty Lee beamed at Azula. The princess followed her into the backseat of the car with a slight roll of her eyes. Very dramatic, Ty Lee.
"Where to?" The driver didn't even bother to look at them when he spoke, and Azula was (once again) uncomfortably reminded of the fact that her status and position meant nothing here; that people could treat her however they liked. She gave him the address of their hotel in a clipped tone, determined not to be polite to someone who wasn't going to offer her the common courtesy of eye-contact.
"The Four Seasons Hotel, on Wilshire Boulevard."
This time the cabbie turned around, giving her a disbelieving glance. "You sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Her tone was authoritative and commanding, with a dangerous edge that made Ty Lee frown at her a little (she didn't have to be so mean!).
The driver snorted, turning to face forward again. "Hey, whatever floats your boat, kids." He pulled back out into the street, drove exactly one block, and then stopped. "Here you go-- the Four Seasons Hotel."
"Thank you," said Azula smoothly, handing him the amount of money showing on the counter.
When they were out on the sidewalk again, she turned to Ty Lee. "Well? Was that satisfactory?"
"Oh yeah, totally!" Ty Lee grinned at her.
"Hmmm. Enough culture for you for today?"
The other girl squinted. "Are you making fun of me?"
Azula waved a hand, walking towards the hotel doors. "Not really. Let's go inside." Ty Lee followed after her.
"That was fun! Can we do it again tomorrow?"
"What, the taxi ride?"
"Mm-hm!"
"... We'll see."