atla one shots

30 - bleeding out

Zuko's pov

I knew the moment the knife managed to get under my guard and into my attack zone, I was going to die. Most people would be shocked or try and fight despite all odds, but my momentum and the attacker's speed mean I don't stand a chance. I had long since accepted my death,  with no problem, with assassination, from both outside and inside orders in my house.

I yelp as the fiery pain lances through my side, the knife being twisted and then yanked out. I cough up some blood,swinging one sword forward, before collapsing, my swords clattering to the ground and the body of my offender following. I grunt and try to rise to my arms, to get help or to check if the other person was dead, but they give out below me without a second thought.

I wince as my vision blurs and pain starts to throb in my head, but the alley and the blood are still there and I know this is where everything ends. No one knows where I am, they have no reason to worry and no one who cares for me is nearby so no help with be coming. I'll bleed out, right here, by my murderer, no in battle or in old age, or by assassination, but by a surprise attack in an alley.

"Guess I deserve this..."

I cough as talking moves my wound, blood splattering the ground and falling more heavily from my mouth. The pain that radiates from coughing isn't worth it and so I decide that I won't even try to call for help, the pain would not be worth it. Emotional and physical.

I flinch as a hand grabs my arm, and then I'm roughly pushed on my back, weight settling on my hips. I wince at the sight of my attacker, bleeding out and much like me, dying, sitting on top of me with a wide grin on his face. He raises his hands and brings them down on my throat, squeezing and squeezing and air, why isn't there air, I need air, please, can't breath, air, airairairairairair, please!

The sky starts to blur and the colors start to fade and pain steadily fades away, nothing coming through my filter of feeling, seeing, hearing, tasting, nothing. The sky is a nice black color, the grey clouds prepared to unleash their might and disapproval down on the people below. I wonder if anyone will be crying at my funeral? Will I even get a funeral? Who will show up to my funeral?

Probably Uncle. Maybe Aang or Toph, but none of the others. I was not a well liked or popular person and my funeral would probably in all actuality make many people happy. That's all I want at this point, is to bring peace to the nation and make everyone happy. If that means this is the end of my road, killed before the end of the war, I will accept it and go quietly.

Something starts shaking, whether it's my vision, the ground or the attacker's hands, I don't know, but I can taste unconsciousness on my lips and nothing is going to stop me from falling into the black void beckoning me with open arms in a way only Uncle had ever done in my life, Mother having left too easily to have actually cared all that much.

The last of my sight fades and my consciousness with it, only the sky in view. 

Switching to 3rd pov (^$#^94-3240*%$&*9

Toph was never one to be particularly observant, but something was bothering her. The town they were in was popular for assassins and bounty hunters. Aang and Katara had needed to stop to get supplies and Sokka had agreed, knowing that the next town was pretty far away and they would need supplies to get there, let alone further.

Toph frowns, she thought she'd felt a thud, maybe two and even the clang of something lighter, but with all the people and noise, she was having a hard time concentrating where she thought she felt the thuds. It took her longer then she'd like to admit, but Toph finally realized what those thuds where and why. She kept an eye on the area while whirling to find her teammates, any of them, just one, come on.