The gym, Sunday afternoon

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Fight Club being canceled for the evening, Dinah decided to step up her workout that afternoon. After a session with the weights, she was now pummeling the punching bag. Kick-punch-strike, punch-punch-punch-kick!

Hm. And maybe some TK weight lifting when she was done with this.

[open like an open thing]

Comments

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Hello," Azula returned. Politeness is a marker of good breeding in the Fire Nation. Fire Lord Sozin probably said 'hello' before he set about conquering the other nations. Right when his armies were at their shores.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah would've been glad about the politeness and tried to be equally polite while working with the rebellion. Civilization made everything easier, right?

"I'm Dinah. Are you one of the students who just arrived yesterday, or one I just didn't manage to meet over the last couple months?" she smiled, and threw another punch at the bag. "I haven't seen you around, but I don't want to assume."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Just because people were at war doesn't mean they have to forget politeness. One can always politely stab people in the back.

"Yes, I'm a new student," Azula answered, studying her punch. "I'm Azula."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Nice to meet you. Welcome to Fandom." Dinah held up her gloved fists and said, "I'd offer a handshake, but." She grinned and shrugged, then did another one-two combination at the bag. "Do you need the bag? I'm almost done." Kick!

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Understandable, I wouldn't want to intrude on your workout." Unless of course, it was Zuko and she'd probably interfere. With a flame to his face. "I don't need the bag, I can just go through the forms."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Cool." Crescent, side, back-kick. "Have you been studying long?" Although a little observation was probably going to answer her question for her in a minute.

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Ever since I could walk," Azula replied then dropped to a firebending stance.

Azula always believed about actions speaking louder than words. She inhaled deeply, centering herself and felt the fire coil inside her, eager to be set free but she kept it in. The gym didn't look fireproof.

And then she launched into a series of complex motions from powerful sweeping kicks to long range punches. She flowed from one stance to another like a dancer. A deadly dancer. Then with a final elbow strike that would, if it connected with an opponent, killed Azula ended the first form.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Wooooow," Dinah couldn't help but say, leaning against the bag. Because seriously. Lady Shiva had been maybe that good, but very few other people even at Fandom had that kind of speed and grace. "Nice!"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," Azula said, accepting the compliment as if it was due her. She didn't even look winded.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah shook herself, then went back to punching the bag. "You should join Fight Club. They took a week off so the new kids could get their feet this week. But it'll be back on next Sunday." She grinned at Azula. "You'd definitely be in the advanced group. Are you in the military back home?"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Yes, it's been mentioned to me and I intend to check it out when it resumes again," Azula said. "I wasn't in the military. I ran the military."

Before she had her mental breakdown and was deposed by her traitorous brother but she's not talking about that.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"We have some volunteer military reserves here," Dinah said, aiming a quick jab at the bag, letting it swing back and kicking it. "Three of them really. The main fighting one, and one for people who do some kind of magic, and the support guys, who do communication and first aid. Some people belong to all three. It's so we can practice fighting together, for the next time the Island gets attacked by something." She gave Azula a speculative glance, wondering how Arthur would react to her. "We can always use good people."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Interested? Was fire hot? Ice, cold? Was night dark? Do people need air to breathe?

"Yes," Azula said very calmly, even though she wasn't. "I think I can spare time for it."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"The military one's on Tuesday, magic on Wednesday, support on Friday. Although I guess that could change up a bit, if the leaders have too many classes on those days." Dinah smiled at Azula. "Stealth drills, weapons, getting familiar with everyone's abilities so we know who we can rely on. Which helped out with the last two crises a lot, I think."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Tuesday," Azula made a note of it. Already marking the day in her calendar. She also resolved to see her armor polished. She didn't have any servants but she could manage. It always served to make a good impression. "I'm sure I can add something to the group."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Cool," Dinah chirped. "So what do you think of Fandom so far? Is it really different from where you're from?"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"It is very different," Azula said, thinking on yesterday, "there's the food, the writing and the hair."

The hair, immediately after the foreign writing, was really getting to Azula. All she need do is look at Dinah for it.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah paused, and pulled her ponytail around to look at it, then grin at Azula. "Not too many blondes or redheads back-- where? And what's the food difference?"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"There's only black and brown hair from my world," Azula said. Well, there was that Northern Water Tribe princess, she had white hair but she was, according to reports, touched by the moon spirit. So that didn't count. "I'm from the Fire Nation and our food is made differently mostly consisting of seafood. Also, the dishes lacked spice."

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Sounds a little like some of the Pacific rim stuff here. Shrimp and rice? Or sushi?" Dinah offered. "Mmm. Sushi. Ahem." She shook her (very blonde) head. "Yeah, that's going to throw you, as much as social changes would. Or the technology. We have people here from the past, or the future, who have a hard time adjusting to stuff. Or one's who've never seen magic or powers at all. Some of them king of go 'buh?' for days."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Pacific rim? Is that where China is? I was mistakenly identified as someone from that country." She wondered why, her eyes were gold, it's enough of an indicative to show which nation she came from. "Yes, that's some example of our food. This world is advanced technologically but the Fire Nation isn't far behind."

She was very proud of that fact.

"We have vehicles and airships we just don't have this thing you call electricity." They really didn't need it since almost anyone in the Fire Nation can generate their own power.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Yup. Along with some others. Japan, Korea. You might want to check out the Chinese place in town, or Sushi Station, if you're looking for familiar food. And cool, you'll probably adjust pretty fast, then, if the technology is familiar." Dinah tilted her head. "Do you guys have magic, in the Fire Nation?"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"I shall need to look up the countries you mentioned and the restaurants," Azula said, the list of things to do where growing. "I also need to purchase chopsticks."

"Some people could, I suppose, perform magic." The way she said magic indicated what she felt about such... parlor tricks. "But most of the people in my world can bend elements and as you may have guessed, my element is fire."

And how.

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Bending fire?" Dinah stopped punching and gave Azula a curious look. "Do you mean starting it, and controlling it? Like that?"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Precisely that," Azula moved a step back and raised her hand and a small blue flame appeared in her hand. To anyone but her, the heat would be searing.