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edenfallingI am collecting the previous two snippets of the Avatar/Enchanted Forest fusion of DOOM that I am not really writing (seriously, I'm not! *crickets chirp*) for the sake of convenient reference. So. 650 words featuring Zuko, Morwen, Sokka, and Toph, with incidental appearances of Katara, Aang, and various cats, plus mentions of other characters.
These snippets are actually separated by, oh, at least a couple weeks and a lot of potential story -- though I grant you, a fair amount of that time is taken up by people traveling and, in Zuko's case, figuring out where to travel, because he is heading off to find the wizards' new secret headquarters and blow it up (Jet helps) -- but they bookend each other neatly, so I am sticking them together.
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The Enemy of My Enemy...
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"You seem like a nice young man, but I'm not looking for apprentices right now, and in any case, you're a fire witch. We don't use anything like the same sort of magic."
Zuko's hair burst into flames, but he counted to ten (and then back to one, and then up to ten again), took a deep breath, and snuffed the fire before it could jump to the branch of the apple tree over his shoulder. "I know that," he said. "I'm not stupid. But my father and sister are fire witches too, and they're a lot better at it than I am. They've taken over the kingdom of Veritand and they're planning to conquer all the western foothills of the Mountains of Morning this fall. It's not right. I've been trying and trying to stop them, but I need something they won't expect."
Morwen seemed unimpressed. Zuko clenched his fists (and did not let them catch fire), and nodded politely, if a bit stiffly. "I'm sorry for wasting your time," he said, and turned to leave her garden.
A cat twined around his ankles and Zuko stumbled to a halt, only barely keeping his balance.
"Thank you, Quiz," Morwen said. "Stop jumping to conclusions. I said I wouldn't teach you. I didn't say I wouldn't help you."
Zuko turned, daring to hope--
"There's a group of rebels based out of the Caves of Fire and Night that I think could use your help," Morwen said, and Zuko's heart fell through the bottom of his shoes while the frustrated rage he'd been keeping so closely banked spiraled up and out of his tenuous control. "They're led by a magician who specializes in wind spells--"
Zuko set her garden on fire.
~~~~~^~~~~~^~~~~~
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...Is NOT My Friend
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Morwen stepped back with a sigh. "If it were just Azula's spell, I could undo this, but it's tangled with an older spell someone cast on you years ago, and that one's tied into your life. I can't even shift the spells to someone else without killing you."
Sokka gesticulated wildly with his new purple claws, slicing up several heads of lettuce and chopping a branch off the apple tree. Beside him, Katara blanched. "I-- I didn't mean--" she murmured.
Morwen pinned her with a glare. "I don't care how much you want to protect someone. There are reasons we put limits on our spells. I hope you've learned your lesson, even if it's too late for your brother."
Katara ran from the garden, crying. After a moment, Aang rushed after her, leaving only the squirrel, the winged buffalo, and Toph to comfort Sokka. He slumped to the ground, spiky black fur pressed flat in despair, and moaned low and hoarse in his inhuman throat.
"Stop it," Toph ordered, smacking one of his claws. "I don't care how tangled the magic is. There must be a way to reverse it." She twisted around to glare in Morwen's approximate direction. "You weren't lying when you said you couldn't change him back from being a nightshade. But you're not the only witch in the world. Do you know anyone who could?"
"A fire witch cast the spell. It's possible another fire witch could remove it," Morwen said reluctantly. "Sometimes they can burn through knots without having to unpick them. But Ozai and Azula have all the fire witches within five hundred leagues either working for them or turned to stone statues." She paused.
Sokka perked up and nudged Toph, nearly knocking her off her feet. "What did you just think of?" Toph asked. "And stop doing that, Snoozles! You're a lot bigger than you used to be."
"Well, there is one fire witch who isn't working for Azula and Ozai," Morwen said. "But I doubt Zuko--"
Sokka's roar sent a wave of cats running out of the garden in blind panic.
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End
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...It is very bad of me to have, like, a novel's worth of outline at this point, right? *headdesk*
Anyway, bed now. I have to get up early in the morning.
These snippets are actually separated by, oh, at least a couple weeks and a lot of potential story -- though I grant you, a fair amount of that time is taken up by people traveling and, in Zuko's case, figuring out where to travel, because he is heading off to find the wizards' new secret headquarters and blow it up (Jet helps) -- but they bookend each other neatly, so I am sticking them together.
---------------------------------------------
The Enemy of My Enemy...
---------------------------------------------
"You seem like a nice young man, but I'm not looking for apprentices right now, and in any case, you're a fire witch. We don't use anything like the same sort of magic."
Zuko's hair burst into flames, but he counted to ten (and then back to one, and then up to ten again), took a deep breath, and snuffed the fire before it could jump to the branch of the apple tree over his shoulder. "I know that," he said. "I'm not stupid. But my father and sister are fire witches too, and they're a lot better at it than I am. They've taken over the kingdom of Veritand and they're planning to conquer all the western foothills of the Mountains of Morning this fall. It's not right. I've been trying and trying to stop them, but I need something they won't expect."
Morwen seemed unimpressed. Zuko clenched his fists (and did not let them catch fire), and nodded politely, if a bit stiffly. "I'm sorry for wasting your time," he said, and turned to leave her garden.
A cat twined around his ankles and Zuko stumbled to a halt, only barely keeping his balance.
"Thank you, Quiz," Morwen said. "Stop jumping to conclusions. I said I wouldn't teach you. I didn't say I wouldn't help you."
Zuko turned, daring to hope--
"There's a group of rebels based out of the Caves of Fire and Night that I think could use your help," Morwen said, and Zuko's heart fell through the bottom of his shoes while the frustrated rage he'd been keeping so closely banked spiraled up and out of his tenuous control. "They're led by a magician who specializes in wind spells--"
Zuko set her garden on fire.
---------------------------------------------
...Is NOT My Friend
---------------------------------------------
Morwen stepped back with a sigh. "If it were just Azula's spell, I could undo this, but it's tangled with an older spell someone cast on you years ago, and that one's tied into your life. I can't even shift the spells to someone else without killing you."
Sokka gesticulated wildly with his new purple claws, slicing up several heads of lettuce and chopping a branch off the apple tree. Beside him, Katara blanched. "I-- I didn't mean--" she murmured.
Morwen pinned her with a glare. "I don't care how much you want to protect someone. There are reasons we put limits on our spells. I hope you've learned your lesson, even if it's too late for your brother."
Katara ran from the garden, crying. After a moment, Aang rushed after her, leaving only the squirrel, the winged buffalo, and Toph to comfort Sokka. He slumped to the ground, spiky black fur pressed flat in despair, and moaned low and hoarse in his inhuman throat.
"Stop it," Toph ordered, smacking one of his claws. "I don't care how tangled the magic is. There must be a way to reverse it." She twisted around to glare in Morwen's approximate direction. "You weren't lying when you said you couldn't change him back from being a nightshade. But you're not the only witch in the world. Do you know anyone who could?"
"A fire witch cast the spell. It's possible another fire witch could remove it," Morwen said reluctantly. "Sometimes they can burn through knots without having to unpick them. But Ozai and Azula have all the fire witches within five hundred leagues either working for them or turned to stone statues." She paused.
Sokka perked up and nudged Toph, nearly knocking her off her feet. "What did you just think of?" Toph asked. "And stop doing that, Snoozles! You're a lot bigger than you used to be."
"Well, there is one fire witch who isn't working for Azula and Ozai," Morwen said. "But I doubt Zuko--"
Sokka's roar sent a wave of cats running out of the garden in blind panic.
---------------------------------------------
End
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...It is very bad of me to have, like, a novel's worth of outline at this point, right? *headdesk*
Anyway, bed now. I have to get up early in the morning.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-11 01:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-11 06:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-11 06:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-11 07:06 pm (UTC)But the biggest difference is probably that these snippets are dialogue-and-action, while the other is a lot of exposition and Toph's thoughts. I find that it's easiest to imitate other writers in motion-heavy or dialogue-heavy scenes. It's a lot harder to iron out my own narrative quirks when I'm writing exposition or internal monologues.