The Beach / November 19 / Thursday, afternoon

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Somehow Azula ended up with the fake and slightly disturbing child thing. And it would not. Shut. Up.
It continued to cry and moan and kick Azula had men demoted and flogged for less unfortunately Professor Skywalker was quite clear about the consequences of destroying the stupid, noisy, ugly thing. She can't even just leave it in her room, spirit's curse it!

"I have fed you," she hissed at the thing. "Why are you still crying?!"

She was more than half tempted to toss the thing into the waters and let the waves carry out to spirits know where.

(For Dinah! But beach open before and after!)

Comments

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah arrived to stare in a mixture of glee and horror. "Oh. My. God. Which class...? I'm guessing it's an assignment, anyway?"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"I assure you, in no way is this voluntary," she held the thing at arms length, hoping the distance can reduce its capacity to render her almost deaf. "And it's for ethics and no I don't know how raising a child relates to the study of moral ethics."

There was an explanation but Azula thought the explanation was complete and utter hogwash.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah winced at the sound, and debated, deciding to let Azula suffer a couple more minutes. "What'd the teacher say about why? And it's going to keep crying, if you do that. It's probably programmed to react like a real baby, and most of them would be scared to be dangled like that."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Then it should stop crying so I'll stop dangling it," she said glaring at the doll. It was a glare that struck fear into the hearts of men but had no effect on the monstrosity. "Somehow ethics is doubling as sex education class, it's so we learn the consequences of lust. I know the consequences of lust, I do not need a fake infant to point it out and scream at me!"

It was taking all of Azula's will power not to shake the baby until it stopped crying.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah reached for the fake baby, more for fear of her own ears than mercy for Azula by now. Or mercy for the little robot thing. "I'll take it long enough to quiet it down, okay?"

Seriously. Professor Skywalker was just mean sometimes.

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Azula all but threw the baby at Dinah once she noticed Dinah reaching for the thing. "Be my guest, take the stupid son of a biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh ur-tze...."

And from there Azula devolved into on an ear rending cussing spree that would make any Fire Nation sailor blush. Azula didn't often curse and to be driven so... well.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

The robo-baby still wailed. Piercingly. Dinah rocked it, and it wailed, and walked back and forth with it, and it cried, and finally put it against her shoulder and patted its back for a bit, until its hiccuping sobs deteriorated into gigantic high-pitched BURP!

"You have to do that or they won't shut up," she told Azula. "Here, have it back."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Azula's expression twisted interestingly as Dinah returned the thing back to her.

"There is a reason why I'm the youngest," she grumbled. "And why there are servants. Children should be seen and not heard."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah chortled, way, way too entertained by this, and said, "What, haven't you ever dealt with kids littler than you before? I used to make half my money babysitting, back home." The other half being Burger King. She'd preferred the babysitting. She sat down to put on her special shoes, and grinned at Azula's frustration. "How long do you have to take care of little whathersname? And do you have a co-parent?"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"I avoid such things as much as I can," she answered still holding the thing gingerly. And the only time she was close to interacting with an infant Azula was Mai's brother and even that Azula managed to avoid by voiding the Avatar's deal to exchange the Omashu king for the baby. Of course she planned to rescue the baby and capture the kidnappers.

"Kusakabe Maron, she is enthusiastic about the assignment and named the baby. I, on the other hand, refuse to name it. Naming things give power." Azula shifted the thing on her other arm, "I can't throw water balloons at you, amuse this monstrosity from hell and demonstrate your TK abilities on water and Earth but like last time don't stay stationary."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Standing up and still grinning, Dinah nodded. Oh, this was so great. Something Azula wasn't perfect at, and knew it.

"Then I guess I'll just have to call it Azula Junior while I'm practicing." She grinned. "Hey A.J., watch this!"

And she took off running, then reached out a hand to raise and arc of water, and send it streaming out toward the ocean.

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"It is not Azula junior! And it is a 'he'!" Azula exclaimed, indignant.

Then the thing, feeling neglected, proceeded to bawl again.

"What now?!"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Rock it!" Dinah called, throwing out a wedge of telekinesis as the sand, sending a sheaf into the ocean. "Back and forth! Walk with it too! Babies like motion!"

Too much more of this and she was just going to laugh her ass off.

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Oh, for the love of Agni," Azula did as Dinah advised. She started walking and moving the thing around. "You are a Fire Nation royal, act like it, child."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Snickering, Dinah picked up her pace, Azula's divided attention somehow inspiring her to do more now. Run run run run, feet sinking into the sand, and then turn and blast the water, sending one sheer curtain upward about thirty feet.

"It's a baby, it doesn't know from Fire Nation, you know!" she called back.

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Well, after I'm done with it, it will!" She returned, "Do the same thing with the sand!"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Suuuure. Hey A.J., your mom wants you to know how to do this!" Dinah shouted back, then did a diving roll, pushing the sand in front of her in a rising wave toward the ocean, that built to a crest and then ended in a new dune.

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"If it were really my child, it would be a prodigy by five years age!" Azula glared at Dinah. "Don't be too cocky. Cockiness will get you killed."

Right, because she was never, ever arrogant on a battlefield.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah grinned and called, "Bet you can't get it to behave by the end of the assignment!"

Then turned and pulled two streamers of water from the bay, running toward Azula, trailing the water-whips behind her, then grinning and sending them zooming over Azula's head-- if she ducked.

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Azula's ears burned at the challenge, "I can and will make this thing behave appropriately!"

She saw the whips and reacted accordingly, she ducked and kicked up the sand in front of her, hoping the spray would reach Dinah. The thing seemed to quiet down at Azula's sudden movement and so she continued the motion, pivoting and kicking up another spray of sand.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

The spray did reach her, and she pulled the water around her to try and form a barrier. Interestingly it did half-work, with the sand falling as it hit the water. Dinah flinched at the half that did get through, still laughing.

"You're on! Hey, A.J.! Cry for Auntie Dinah!"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Don't call it, AJ!" Azula growled. She narrowed her eyes and tried to determine if it was worth it to toss a flame near Dinah when the thing decided for her and--

"Why is my arm wet..." she trailed off as she connected the dots and thing began to cry again. "HOE-tze duh PEE-goo!*"

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"What was that?" Dinah said, laughing, and had to stop to get her balance, she was laughing so much. "And I'll call it A.J. 'til you name it something else!"

And sent another standing-wave through the sand at Azula, to see how well she'd protect that robo-baby.

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"I just changed you, you liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh ur-tze!*" Azula again attempted to kick sand at Dinah then she saw Dinah send another wave at her.

Azula's first instinct was to raise up the thing as a shield then realized how that could affect her grade negatively and Dinah's stupid challenge. For the first time in her life Azula was frozen in indecision and all she could do was raise her arms to get the fake infant out of the way.

And thus... she stood there and let the sand hit her full on the face.

*

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah stopped, grinning, and sat down on the sand. "Time out?"