shatterverse | (no subject)

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hibym a jona,
iroh

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They scrub her up, dress her all nice in dirty grey, tie her hands behind her back and lead her blind out of her cell with the black hood knotted closed at the front. She can't breathe in the smoky street air, can't hear over the press of boos and cheers and chatter that erupts on her ears.

This is it. She's going to die.

The hangman's hands are surprisingly gentle -- but then they have to be, don't they? The crowd needs to be told who's the hero and the villain of the scene -- it's just like a play, she realises, just the endlessly-retold fable of the Bad Little Thief who was Brought To Justice. She's blithely accepted it hundreds of times as part of the gleeful crowd.

This is it. This is it. She's going to die, and they're going to mince her body so she can't come back, and--

--there's a split second's nothing as the hangman pulls the trapdoor lever, clunk, and--

--SHE SCREAMS as the wood beneath her feet vanishes, crack, and--

--hits grass, crumples, struggles, falls, screams again, is she dead?, screams again.

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"In that case," Iroh's voice holds a hint of a laugh, "Perhaps you could tell me where we are?"

"I..."

It occurs to her to scramble to her feet: it's natural to feel safer when you're more able to move. It's not that she finds the man threatening (he helped her, after all), but that:

"...I have not got the faintest, I -- I swear I wasn't here a second ago."

"Ah," Iroh says unperturbed. "It seems that you and I share that at least."

It's quite difficult to panic with the man acting so calmly, thank Gods. "What? --Were you at the--" (her tongue wants nothing to do with the word 'execution') "--the, the square?"

"No, I am afraid I was not." He was in prison, as it turns out, but that probably won't reassure her, so he doesn't mention it.

"Oh."

Pity; then they'd have another thing in common!

Jona has no idea what to say next, so she settles for staring about them. There's a bewildering lack of close and leaning houses, grimy cobbles, and the constant noise of people. On the other hand, there's also a lack of angry guardsmen, which seems a fair trade.

"It's so open," she says, half to herself.

"So it is," Iroh grins. "There are parts of the Earth Kingdom that are sort of like this. Only... more rocks." Cause it's the Earth Kingdom.

"Is that up south?"

Because living in a technology-starved slum? Not conducive to knowledge of world geography.

"Er, no. That's in the west." He's eying her curiously now. "Where did you say you were from again?"

What, he can't tell by the blue tongue?

"I'm from Tryst. And my parents." This is important! "...Before that we're from the tundras, though."

All he can tell from the blue tongue is that the hands aren't her only birth defect. Not that it matters since she seems to get along fine.

Other than the hood thing.

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Tryst. What is that near?"

Wait till he sees her feet!

"It's... um," says the girl who hasn't seen all of the city, let alone travelled outside it. "It's sort of..."

She waves her hands in a vaguely indicatory way, and gives up.

"...Mister, you should know it, it's huge. It's got canals."

Iroh shakes his head, "Sorry, I'm not familiar with it." And if he doesn't know it, then it can't really be a huge city.

Jona frowns a little. Everyone should have heard of her home! Because... it's her home, that's why, and she's proud of it! Um, even if it does have capital punishment.

"Then where d'you from?"

Bet she hasn't heard of it! ...Actually, with her knowledge, that wouldn't be a mark against it.

"I was born in the Fire Nation," Iroh answers simply.

Huh. Another place she doesn't know.

"Used their imaginations naming your nations, didn't they?" It's not meant meanly. You can tell by the smile.

Iroh's laugh is deep and rich, "Well, it is descriptive. Even if it's not especially elegant."

Bright grin! Jona pretty much goes with whatever anyone else is feeling, really. "You move somewhere else, too?" Well, he did only say he was born there.

"Oh, I wandered for a while. With my nephew," Iroh's smile is fond, if a little pained.

"Not enough food in the Fire Nation?" Her socio-economic learnings, let her show you them.

...Oh, hang on, pained isn't good. Jona's expression becomes more concerned.

He offers a good-natured chuckle, "Oh, no. There was generally enough food. My nephew was on something of a pilgrimage." To find himself.

Jona pretends to know what a pilgrimage is.

"...Oh?"

Um.

"Is he...?" she answers her own question by glancing around at the lack of angry Fire Nation prince.

Iroh didn't even look before shaking his head, "Ah, no. We are no longer traveling together."

Jona's gradually picking up on a sense of awk-waaard. She chews uncertainly at her thumbnail.

...

"We should... find... people," she suggests. "A city. Something. We can't stay out in the open during the night." Not that she knows how long it is until said night, but it will give them something to do and maybe someone can tell them what happened to bring them here? :D?

"We can't?" Iroh ponders this for a moment. "I don't see why not. It looks rather nice out here, after all." Then, "Not that I would object to a city, of course."