uncle_iroh | Inbox for Sn: Pai Sho

[ Zuko didn't warn Iroh that he was coming over today. He doesn't text, just comes over with a hope of catching the man at home. If not, he's prepared a card, using his best calligraphy skills to write "For Uncle" in their world's language and a loose, impressionistic sketch of a branch of blossoms in intentional brush strokes; it's quite nice looking, really. The illustration on the card matches the gift he comes bearing: a large bouquet of red, yellow and white larkspurs, as well as a small pot of an unblossomed sprout of some sort. He picked up these flowers from Aerith as a gift with his uncle in mind specifically from the get go. He comes wearing plain clothes and knocks at the door, waiting a few moments, just in case Iroh is home to answer. If not, he'll leave them at the doorstep with the note he drew. ]

He is indeed in. Iroh opened the door and blinked when he saw his nephew with the flowers. Then he smiled. "You have a date, Prince Zuko?" Who was she that Zuko actually thought to bing flowers? Orr had one of his friends taught him more about how to handle such things than Zuko had been able to learn in Ba Sing Se?

"Wh-What?! A date?! No...!"

Uh, how dare you even suggest it, is how his body language reads, flustered, reeling were it not for his armful of flowers.

"No, Uncle, they're for you... To decorate your apartment..."

He looks disgruntled. His kindness was misinterpreted right off the bat!

"Oh. Well then, come on in. But it would not be so bad for you to go on a date, would it?" he asked, stepping out of the way. "You looked quite handsome on your date in Ba Sing Se, after all."

He does as told, waiting inside for Iroh to either take all these big flowers from him or tell him where to put them.

"Why's everyone trying to get me to go on dates lately!" he laments, rolling his eyes.

He'd just been pestered by Hikaru playing wingman with Aurora not so long ago, but he's not advertising to Iroh that indeed his friend has already set him up on a date coming up quite soon. Although he's terribly certain that Iroh would approve of her, an elegant and kindly peasant girl raised in the woods by her aunts who teaches Zuko to enjoy singing and dancing as a form of meditation, of course a good influence in his life with stunning (though literally alien) good looks to boot... which is exactly why he's not advertising this information yet. But it's Zuko. It's not hard to get information out of him.

uncle the avatar is here!!!!!

[ He's still in a good mood because... the shocking news Aang delivers by accident has not sunk in yet. But it will. Oh, it will. ]

"Because it is a good and often natural experience for youngsters. You said that you wanted a more normal time while you are here. Who, in this case, is everyone?" he asked as casually as he said the rest, without any change in pace or tone to indicate he was going to swap from answering to asking. He did take the flowers, though; he set them on the counter in the kitchen and started studying them to see if any of them might make good tea.

[He's still not used to this thing. Also fat fingers + unfamiliar touch screen.....]

"Rich onr?| Whee arw yuu?"

"It's poisonous, Uncle — it can't be made into tea. I asked."

He recognizes that inspection and follows Iroh's train of thought without the man needing to say anything at all. Zuko had foresight for once. But he huffs, sweeping the room in long, quick strides to collapse on the couch as if it were his own home, resting his arms behind his head and talking to the ceiling instead of looking at Iroh when he speaks.

"And by everyone, I dunno, my friends, people I know — it's just come up a lot lately... Hikaru, mostly, I guess. He's trying to play matchmaker, I can tell."

He says it with some derision, some dismissiveness, but Iroh knows Zuko all too well enough to hear there's also some tone of endearment in there, amusement, fondness... Zuko can complain about it, but from the sounds of it, he's letting it happen anyway.

[ Oh boy... Zuko facepalms before he even responds, and he switches to voice, attaching a selfie taken with him and Aang close together in the carriage where Zuko found the young airbender (though not so young as he remembers him, Aang being about sixteen here, which Iroh may notice too); both boys are smiling brightly. It's a cute photo. ]

I'm in the caravan with Aang, Uncle.

Oh well. At least they looked and smelled nice. Though his arm did itch at the thought of drinking another poisonous tea...

"Has it come up more, recently, for a specific reason, prince Zuko?"

[It took him a few moments to recall how to switch over to voice as well. There might be some beeping in Zuko's ear.]

"That is some painting, prince Zuko. It almost makes him look as young as you." [Allow him his humour, he's finally not the oldest one here.] "Does this thing allow me to speak with him as well?"

It's a photograph, Uncle. Like the videos I showed you, but still. And Aang is...— well, you can talk to him about it yourself sometime. I helped him set up his phone, too. ...Aang, what was your username again—?

[ And indeed, Aang's voice can be heard now too, replying with "avataraang," simple and direct choice in name. ]

It's "avataraang." I told him you are here. I'll give him your username, too.

"No."

The sharpness and quickness of that 'no,' just on the tail of Iroh's own question he could barely finish before it being shot down, is a very clear 'yes.' Zuko's not a great liar.

"Perhaps we should all have tea together."

[All being an elastic word, at need.]

"What is her name?" He was guessing at the pronoun, given he'd only ever seen Zuko seem to be interested in girls, but he'd accept anyone who made Zuko happy. Or at least the proper sort of miserable.

We definitely should.

[ Zuko's smile can be heard in his voice.

It's short-lived. He and Aang have a lot to catch up on. Much more than Zuko even knows... And once he finds out how little he knows, he's not gonna be so smiley. ]

Shoot, saw right through his thin veneer!

"...Aurora..." Zuko mumbles after a pouty silence, shifting his pose on the couch to cross his arms over his chest, closed off though opening up. Can't just have a direct conversation with Iroh about this stuff, after all; has to have some grumpy pomp. But if he hadn't wanted to talk about it, he wouldn't have said anything, right? Right.

Uncle, look—

[ The camera does not show Zuko, but Zunyan... with its head sniffing around in some kind of basin, or...? Zuko zooms out slowly to reveal—

The dragon is inside a tsungi horn sitting on Azula and Zuko's small dining room table! The instrument makes the tiny dragon seem even smaller than it is, but that's unmistakably a tsungi horn! How and why did Zuko get a real tsungi horn here?! ]

Oh, and this—

[ Heard off screen, Zuko's hand can be seen extending a ceramic mug, which catches Zun's attention next, and the dragon sticks its head in that now, too, to inquire and inspect. Thankfully it's empty... for now. ]

A special mug! It's got a spell cast on it so it never runs dry. For your tea.

[ Iroh has a nice nephew. Zuko's been enjoying turning his lingering guilt into gifts, at least. ]

[ Regardless of whatever Iroh says in response, Zuko doesn't respond again for many hours more. But Iroh will get a text later that night — maybe around 22:00, which is late for these early-rising firebenders. That's basically bedtime! And indeed, Zuko's coming over for a, uh... impromptu slumber party... ]

uncle im coming over

"Good. Let us see how to set that up."

"Alright. I shall put on tea."

"A lovely name. What is she like?"

"And where did you come by these things, prince Zuko?" [This was not the first time that the young man had come bearing a multitude of gifts, after all.]

I bought it from the Traders. Someone told me you can request things from home, so I went with the Tenth to request they send us Gokudera's cat Uri... and a tsungi horn. And then I found this mug they were selling, too.

[ He sounds smitten. But then he repeats himself, a little cautiously: ]

I bought it...

Inbox for Sn: Pai Sho - Avalon

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text; un: fireprince; backdated to day of Aang's arrival

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(OOC: Yes, I did just try to type into my phone the way my grandma used to type on hers, to get that

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voice; method acting rofl

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Voice: Not usually my... cup of tea... but it worked.

girjoskf hope c doesn't mind me handwaving this haha

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video; un: fireprince

text; several hours later, well after nightfall

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Re: text; several hours later, well after nightfall

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voice;