Defiance ❯ Atla

ɪɪ. ᴀɢɴɪ ᴋᴀɪ

༻࿇༺

The Avatar has lovely eyes. It's the first thing Miko thinks when he's up close. They're gray, but they're big and bold -- not exactly stormy, though they do sort of resemble clouds. They're not warm, but they're far, far away from cold. She can't think up a word to do them the justice they deserve -- playful, perhaps. And even as he's surrounded by heavily armed guards in big, thick protective gear, even as Zuko's right up in his face glaring like he's the scum of the Earth, the Avatar still has the most childish, innocent grin Miko has ever seen.

"I suppose you wouldn't know about fathers, being raised by monks," Zuko says after proclaiming the Avatar's staff would make an excellent gift for his father, Ozai.

Miko lets out a huge, childlike grin of her own. Her warm, golden eyes searching the Avatar's playful gray ones. "What was that like? Also, how is it possible? I thought monks didn't have children? Oh! And if you're an air bender does that mean you can fly? I've never met an air bender before, but I hear they could fly. Or can fly?" She frowns, putting a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure which is correct anymore..."

"That's a lot of questions..." Miko gives him a sheepish smile. The Avatar shrugs, forcing the guards' grips to tighten, still grinning as bright as the day itself. When he speaks, it's with one breath, the words rushing from his mouth with more energy than Miko herself -- and she's been told she has a lot of energy. "Well, it's funny you mention the flying thing because we have lots of flying bison to ride on at the air temples -- Appa, he's my pet and best friend, he's a flying bison -- and actually I can use that staff as a --"

"Miko!" Zuko snaps. "Stop fraternizing with the prisoner!"

"Who's fraternizing? I'm asking questions. It's not as if we're going to run into another air bender to ask about these things."

"Huh?" The Avatar's lost his grin, if only just for a moment. His head is tilted to the side, that spark of innocence wavering slightly. Doesn't he know what's happened to his people? Miko runs his sentence through her mind again -- at the air temples we have [...] Present tense. Not past tense. As if the Air Nomads were still alive and well... But how could he not know they'd been killed off ages ago? Hasn't he seen what's been happening in the war? Sure, he has disappeared for one hundred years, but that doesn't mean he wasn't able to keep up with the war... right?

Miko looks over to her cousin. He doesn't notice the look on the Avatar's face. He's not amused by Miko's antics, and he's not interested in learning about the fallen Air Nomads, not if it doesn't help him get the Avatar to his father. That's all that matters to him now, that's all that's mattered to him in the past two years.

Miko sighs. He's got a boring, one track mind. "Fine. Let's dishonor him!" She turns to the Avatar, her movements over dramatic as she rants, "Dishonor! Dishonor on all your temples! Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow!"

"Appa's a bison," the Avatar corrects, still he laughs. Zuko does not. Perhaps the joke is a bit insensitive to his situation...

"Take the Avatar to the prison hold, and take this to my quarters," Zuko orders everyone, passing the Avatar's staff to his uncle. In turn, Iroh passes it to another, empty handed guard. Everyone splits off. Zuko goes to the captain's deck, Iroh to his own quarters, most likely to take a nap. Miko watches the guards take the Avatar below deck; he seems to be watching, trying to take in where everyone is going, perhaps.

It's only minutes later when chaos strikes. Miko migrates to her own quarters, continues working on her paintings, even begins a brand new one, humming a jaunty tune as she does so. She's not been working for more than five minutes when the Avatar bursts in through the door. His hands are unbound, and he's looking around in a rush, doesn't see Miko at first. When he does, his eyes widen; she waves. "Escaping already? That's a shame. You haven't even sat through music night yet."