markofthebrave | [ Action, Voice ] .031

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[ Action, Voice ] .031

[If you are passing by the Southmost bridge at just the right time, you will find it hard not to notice the girl in an unusual dress and boots facedown on the ground. One shoulder is strangely disjointed, and there are bruises up and down her arms, particularly violent ones around her wrists. She looks like nothing more than a broken and discarded doll.

As the sun continues to set, the coolness in the ground will cause her to start to stir. When she sits up, she grimaces, moving as if there might be something wrong with her ribs. If you happen to be looking at her as she does, you'll notice the sickening blue and yellow bruise spread across her right collarbone, the lovely shiner on her eye.

The wonderful thing about Luceti? Sometimes there's a journal right where you need it. She barely has enough presence of mind to make sure the picture points away from her face, but her voice is very tired.]

Sokka, Aang - I'm back. [Sorry Suki, Zuko.] I'm okay.

[10 100 (thank you, Shikamaru) percent filter to Chopper, Raine]
Hey guys, if you're there - I could use a little help.

[She doesn't want her brother and Aang to see her like this.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Michael? [It's not a name Sanji's familiar with. But any subtle wariness gives way to approval when she mentions Chopper]

And yeah, we're all fine. [Just recovering, but he supposes that goes without saying]

Good, I'm glad. [She closes her eyes and slumps a little. It's good just to hear Sanji's voice, really. With each person that responds she's taking a little thread of safety and holding on to it, wrapping it around herself and slowly, slowly sinking in to the realization that - for now - it's over.]

And Michael's a friend [of a sort]. He came in the last New Feather cycle. We fought in the infiltration together.

[There, that's all the relevant information, right? Her words are heavy. She's just so tired, she can't keep up the light tone, can't pretend to be all right, doesn't see why she should have to. Everyone knows the Malnosso return you hurt. Friends are there to lean on when you need help. Right now, she is okay with that... but that doesn't mean she wants them to worry. She'll be okay. She knows it.]

[So someone Sanji should get to know, from the sounds of it. But Katara sounds so tired, and frankly, Sanji doesn't give two shits about the guy for that reason alone]

... Do you know what they did yet? [If Chopper's on the way, she's injured. But it strikes hard knowing he has to hope that's all they did]

[Her voice tenses a little.] Not yet.

[She doesn't even bother to think about denying it. She knows they did something to her. She remembers fighting as they strapped her to the table...

And it's a terrifying thought. Worse for Sanji because... she remembers...

Her voice thickens a bit.] I'll be all right. Whatever it is won't last.

[And if it's anything like what happened to him last time, at least she's had an example of how to deal with it. Don't worry, Sanji, it will be OK! ...and she might be completely saying this to convince herself, as well.]

Yeah, I know. You will be. [She doesn't have a choice - you either deal with what happens or break from it. Luceti doesn't give anyone many options.

There's a thin smile on his face, but it's honest. As are his words] Sorry, I'm just a little worried.

That's okay. [She responds to honesty in kind - although she wishes he wasn't, it's still nice to have that support.] I would be too. But - this part's the easy part, right? I'm not there anymore.

It's true. One less thing to worry abut. [But really, no point in dwelling on the problem. His smile gets wider]

Does Sokka know you're back?

I haven't heard from him yet...

...he's okay, right?

As far as I know, yeah.

But we didn't get a chance to talk much last week, considering. [he rubs the back of his neck, not wanting to slip back into his old thoughts. It's just... hard.]

Yeah... [And she trails off. Sorry, Sanji, she's a little beaten and exhausted. She exhales a bit.] It was really bad, huh?

[He's not holding it against her.

And frankly:]

It's gonna take a while for all of us to recover. Between the hallucinations and that shitty ball...

Ball?

[She hasn't heard about that.]

Yeah. On the day of Halloween, a tent went up. Free punch and music and food inside. [Indicated by the expression on his face, someone doesn't approve]

[Okay...?]

And something bad happened?

[Well... she's gonna find out some time or another]

Later that night, some guy in a beaked mask snuck around and plucked the feathers of anyone inside the tent.

[She gasps. Okay, that's seriously not good.]

Of anyone? What happened? Was anyone really hurt?

You should ask Nami-san or Usopp for details. [A pause, and he looks slightly ashamed] The bastard got a lot of mine, so I don't remember much.

But I heard he was taking the feathers off our strongest guys here, and that a group went to chase him down in the tunnels after he was caught. Usopp was one of them.

...

[And it's at this point that concern overrides common sense and Katara grabs the book with her good hand, holding it up to her face so that she can see into it.]

How many did he get? Are you okay?

[Enjoy the view of that lovely shiner on the side of her face - the broken and bleeding lip - and the fact that one side of her face is suspiciously swollen. Contrast this with the fact that her eyes are wide with concern and she's peering into the book for a sign of your condition.]

Edited 2010-11-09 05:13 (UTC)

[The hell did they--

Is he okay?!]

Oi, I'm fine. But your face! [He's shooting her the exact same look of distress and concern, though his is torn between throwing a fit and marching off to find her]

Those shitty-- [Next time he ever gets kidnapped, he's raising hell on principle]

[Oh. Crap.

Busted.]

[She immediately tilts the book away so he won't have to look at it.]

It's just some bruises. I'll be okay.

[Just - don't ask how she got them. D:]

[he's more concerned that she's got them at all. Chopper, please to be putting a move on it.

He rubs his face, feeling tired from his own spike of anger]

Is that all? Just bruises? [What else did they do?]

[Uh, well? Umm. Hmm.]

I'm a little beat up, but I'm okay.

[You're not going to be asking for specifics, right? D:]

They didn't - do anything else.

[He hisses a sigh through his teeth.

... No, he's not gonna ask. Chopper will fix her up no matter the damage. That he can take to heart]

Alright. [His voice quiets] No one's found you yet?

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