Zompania Draft: Coming Home

[frost_jewel]

Who: Anyone drafted to Zompania, or recruited as reinforcements, or left behind in the village. SO. Everybody!
What: The draftees and reinforcements return to the village.
When: May 26, early early in the morning
Where: Back in Luceti
Summary: Most draftees and reinforcements return to Luceti in the very early hours; now, instead of a medevac site for the draft, the village is a welcome (?) refuge from the nightmare of Zompania for its own. There's a high likelihood it still looks a lot like it has in the past few days; those in the fight didn't even get a chance to shower before returning.

(This is the place for all your post-draft trauma and reunions and every other thing. Have fun! And don't forget to entry-tag your character.)

Comments

All the threads, all the time. :D

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh walks with Zuko as they head back to the house. To say it had been a difficult draft would be an understatement. Physically he had come out of it alright, some injuries, but nothing that a few days of rest wouldn't see mostly mended. Seeing Lu Ten die again, and this time by his own hand was something which was etched in his mind now. Part of him didn't want to sleep again, for he knew that image would be there.

He doesn't say anything as they move on together. At the very least, they had made it. For now, that would have to be enough]

\o/

[lordhotman]

[Zuko is equally as quiet, and so they walk in silence for some time. They've seen and been through a lot. And there was definitely no singing or teasing now. But despite all the terrible things that Zuko himself had gone through, his uncle's pain was likely greater.]

I can make tea when we get back.

[A feeble offer that he hopes might help cheer Iroh up, at least a little bit.]

[tea_lover64]

[He could tell it was a gesture, and he was glad Zuko had matured to the point where he was willing to do such things.]

That is a kind gesture, but I will brew something myself. I have a blend that should bring on dreamless sleep. I'll brew you a cup as well.

[They both would need it tonight]

[lordhotman]

[He's had a lot of time to mature since what Iroh last remembered from their world.]

Thanks.

[Yeah, he would definitely be needing it too. He then looks at himself, knowing that these clothes were ruined.]

I think I might pick up some new clothes too.

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh gives a tired nod]

You are quite welcome.

[A pause for a moment because working through basic stuff is taking more effort than usual]

A good idea. I feel I wish to burn these.

[Starting fires, step two for recovering fire benders]

[lordhotman]

Yeah, same here. I don't think I could ever wear these clothes again.

[Even if they weren't completely ruined its just... it didn't feel right.]

[tea_lover64]

Let's head over to the item shop and get ourselves something new, we can burn them tonight.

[Something in him despite the tiredness felt the rightness of that course of action]

[lordhotman]

Good idea.

[With that he turns to start walking in the direction of the clothing shop.]

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh follows along. There was little he could say to offer him words of comfort or advice. Every leader had to come to terms with the cost and suffering caused by war.]

[lordhotman]

[Zuko eventually breaks the silence.]

Uncle, was this what it was like at Ba Sing Se?

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh considers the question for a moment]

Well, it was not like what we saw there. We had a siege on, so it was a long lasting, but there were many times without any action at all, with sudden bursts of action. We of course also had the added benefit of planning for quite some time, and detailed maps as well as intel about the battle at hand.

[lordhotman]

I see. Other people were telling me about similar things that happened in their own worlds. I couldn't think of anything in ours that could compare, except maybe what happened to the airbenders. But that was before our time.

[tea_lover64]

Yes, the near eradication of the Air Nomads was about as close as we have come that springs to mind. Many things were done during the war which were brutal and vile, yet there has always been room for surrender, and for taking without damaging as much as possible.

[lordhotman]

Yeah, you're right.

[It was strange to think that even his father looked tame compared to these cultists.]

[tea_lover64]

Their goal is eradication not to hold ground or expand an empire, at least presently. It seems they are growing in strength, we will have to be vigilant.

[lordhotman]

But why? You saw how they fight. They don't care if they live or die. What could possibly be worth that?

Yay, eastern philosophy

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh shakes his head]

I am not sure. They must believe that there is something that can be gained by such destruction. Some seek to destroy in order to reset everything. As you know we live in cycles of existence. Perhaps they seek to destroy all, so that it will begin again fresh and pure. It is a mad task.

[lordhotman]

[It gives him a headache just to think about it. So Zuko isn't even going to try to understand. He just sighs and looks up as they arrive at the clothing shop. Good, something else to think about.]

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh pushes the door open tiredly and heads in. Hopefully this would not take too long]

[lordhotman]

[Zuko almost doesn't care what kind of clothes they are... so long as they're clean and reasonably comfortable. Though most of the stuff looks... very foreign to him. So he just picks out things in colors he likes and whatever. Which ends up something like this.]

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh on the other hand finds himself something much more tropical. He finds a nice Hawaiian shirt, with some red floral patterns and some khaki pants]

Yes, this will do.

[lordhotman]

[Zuko stares at his uncle's choice for a moment. He looks about to say something but thinks better of it. Instead he smiles faintly.]

It suits you.

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh returns the smile slightly]

Excellent, I am glad to hear it. Let's go burn these things.

[lordhotman]

Right.

[And with that Zuko heads out the door.]