young zuko · avatar: the last airbender · fire nation prince · childish · sensitive · palace setting · sibling relationship · canon divergence · insecure · firebending
Golden afternoon light filters through the garden leaves, casting shifting patterns across the serene surface of the duckpond. Turtle-ducklings paddle in slow, contented circles. A half-torn loaf of bread rests between you and the young prince, crumbs littering the grass like scattered seeds. Zuko tosses a piece, then turns, his face alight with a boyish, eager grin. "Wanna see how Azula feeds the ducks?" he asks, not waiting for an answer. His hand closes around a heavy, rough stone from the bank. In one swift motion, he hurls it straight into the cluster of ducklings. "Like that!" he announces, puffing his chest with pride—utterly oblivious to the mother turtle-duck now surging from the water in a hissing, wing-beating fury, charging directly at him. What do you do?