Third floor common room / Tuesday evening

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Azula carried the mechanical baby to the common room to get its/his bottle. "How can you still be hungry? I've already fed you and it seems like your clamoring for more, why?"

She was sleep deprived, cranky and this baby thing would not settle. "Stupid assignment."

(Common Room open!)

Comments

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

"You shouldn't call it stupid," Maron chided, revolting fresh looking and with the bright-eyed gaze of someone who hasn't had a baby to deal with for the last few days. "Though I'll admit calling the assignment stupid is better than calling Dai so. You don't want to stunt his development."

Or Maron could just find this funny. Yes. She perched on the arm of one of the chairs and surveyed the scene. "Very cute," she complimented.

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Azula glared at her, "You would say that because you haven't spent more than an hour with this monstrosity."

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

Maron grinned at that.

"I take him tomorrow for the next few days," she reminded. "You'll be able to get your sleep caught up then. I'm looking forward to it."

It helped that Maron liked kids, really.

"Besides, he can't have been that bad."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"I look forward to the time I can say, 'I told you so'," Azula said. "What do we call this thing again?"

Because she will never, ever call this AJ or whatever it is Dinah called it.

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

"Do I really want to know what you've been calling him in the meantime?" Maron asked, stifling a giggle. "His name is Dai."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Dai," Azula repeated. "Well, at least its a good strong name. Yes, I don't think you'd appreciate what I've been calling your fake child."

It was a variation of demon, monster, monkey and various other curse words native to her tongue.

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

"Your fake child too, 'mama'," Maron teased, ready to dart away if Azula tried to whack her or anything. "I'm no single mom."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Oh, she didn't need to, if looks could burn Maron would be on fire.

"Believe me, if I had a choice you would be. As such, I think I've gotten a bit of a handle on young Dai. I've been teaching him the ways of a proper Fire Nation prince."

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

Maron tilted her head and pretended she didn't notice the glare.

"What are the ways of a proper prince?"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Be cunning, elegant, wise and obedient to its master," Azula replied. "Me."

It was a baby, Azula, not a soldier.

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

Maron bit her tongue before trying to answer that.

"Don't you think he's a bit, um, young?" she opined. "Just a bit?"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"Nonsense," she waved a free hand. "No one can be too young to learn the ways of the Fire Nation."

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

"He doesn't even understand what you're saying yet," she pointed out.

Then considered that.

"Well, he can probably tell tone, but..."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"If we assume a child is stupid then he will grow into a stupid man, assume a child is a prodigy and he will be a prodigy." Azula's tone was defensive. "Dai is part Fire Nation, he is smart."

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

"He's very smart," Maron said, frowning over at Azula. "But that doesn't mean he doesn't need time to grow too. And there's also the fact that I don't know about your culture so we could be teaching him completely different things and only confusing him."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"What else should we be teaching him?" Azula asked, flummoxed. "I think it's a little early to teach him about politics."

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

"No no no," she said, holding up her hands. "I mean, with you teaching him the elegant, wise and obedient thing while I was sort of... focusing on the exploration and wonder part of realizing the world."

Basically: Maron was big on shiny toys and playing with them with the baby.

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"He can learn about that when he joins the army," Azula assured her. "In my campaigns I've seen a lot of beautiful lands in my worlds."

Before she conquered said lands that is.

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

There were times when Azula really creeped her out.

"...does he have to join the army?" Maron asked dubiously. "I mean, I think I'd rather he didn't..."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

She has that effect on everyone.

"Every Fire Nation royal served in the military since time immemorial, of course he has to serve."

It seems Azula forgot Dai was a fake baby.

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

They were making rather long-term goals for a two week assignment, weren't they?

...

"...does that make me, uh, a consort or something?"

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

"What?" That snapped some reality back into Azula. "No. Why?"

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

"Just saying," she confessed. "If he's a royal baby, and I'm one of his mothers..."

[azuldragon.livejournal.com]

Azula opened her mouth, closed it then opened it again.

"It's a fake baby."

Suuure, now you remember.

[gods-gymnast.livejournal.com]

"Absolutely fake," Maron agreed, not wanting to have Azula get mad at her. "Even though you were talking about him joining the army."