markofthebrave | [Written/Action] .002

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[Written/Action] .002

So, we can use these things to contact everyone? That's pretty neat ~~if really really weird.~~ I think I'll start of writing, though, because talking to a book still seems like something Dock would do.

That's got to be annoying, for so many people to look at something if you just want to talk to one or two people. The guide said something about being able to filter these things? But I don't really see how that could work...

Tormod, you can have your cape back whenever you want. Have you found a place to stay yet?

And hey, if there's a Hugo or a Derek out there, I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes.

[So not one to stay copped up in the house, Katara is going to pack up her journal and her waterskin and bundle up. They're in the middle of a cold snap, but now that she has shoes the freezing doesn't really bother her so much. She's going to head on over to the grocery store to get some soup ingredients and check out the other buildings. She's friendly! Feel free to say hello!]

ETA [Voice]
Hey Toph! I'm at the grocery store, do you want anything?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Huh. So the elements are very important in your world. [Something about that vaguely reminded him of the Grasslands.] For runes being as important as they are in my world, we don't have countries named after them or anything.

[Half shrug] I've never thought of them as not being important. It's hard to imagine any place without bending..

What are runes?

Runes are the magic we use in our world. It's believed that the world was created from them, so it's understandable that most people feel strongly toward them. [Hmm...] For example, the Sun Rune governs over the power of the sun, and it's kept in the Queendom of Falena by tradition. Of course, because of the runes' importance, it's not uncommon for wars to break out with them at the center.

[Katara pauses for example to absorb this entirely different and completely foreign worldview. A single thing to hold the power of the whole sun...]

So runes... hold power. And they are like... objects? I met someone who said he did magic with a stave, is it like that?

[He shakes his head.]

Not quite. Runes are usually encased in crystals, but they're useless until you speak to a Rune Master. They know how to release the power from the crystals, and when they do, the rune becomes embedded on the person's body. Hugo has one on his right hand—the True Fire Rune. Like the Sun Rune, it's one of the 27 True Runes, so it's more important than regular ones that you can find just about anywhere.

[...great. More fire. True Runes? Regular Runes? What? Was everyone else's world so complicated?]

...so getting a rune to work is like an art form. You have to be trained in it? And... there are two different types?

[Rueful laugh] Your world is complicated.

That's right. [He nods.] Regular runes are descended from True Runes. They aren't as powerful, but they're much more common, and they still get the job done. There are a few people here from my world, but none of them are Rune Masters, so even if we could find runes here, there's no way we'd be able to use them. Likewise, if anyone came here with a rune, they wouldn't be able to take it off.

[That comment kind of catches him by surprise, though. He lets out a bit of a laugh, too.] Is it? I never really thought of it as complicated.

[...descended? And here she thought a rune was a crystal! Her head is going to start to hurt in a minute, so she switches the conversation to something a little less... impossible.]

Oh? Who's here from your world? You mentioned your brother and Hugo, right? Are there many others?

There are quite a few of them, all from different points in time. Um... [Let's see, good examples. He didn't know a lot of them very well.] For example, there's Flik, a famous mercenary. He's kind of a hero—he fought in the war that liberated my home country more than fifteen years ago. I've actually read about him. On the other hand, there's Jacques, a Harmonian mercenary from around my time. He was on our side in the war. He hardly speaks, but he's a good guy. [He shrugs.] There are a few from your world, too, right?

[Glee!] Different time periods? Wow that's--

[Exactly what happened to her, actually. And it hasn't exactly been fun. Her excited face falls completely. She makes an attempt to smile again.]

It must be interesting to meet people you've read about. As for me, I'm lucky, I guess. My brother is here, and you probably figured out that Toph's from my home... and then there's Zuko.

[He definitely notices the change in her mood, so he'll keep his response to that one nice and short.] It's a strange feeling.

[A pause! He'd never met Zuko, but he knew that Sokka and Toph were friends. Sokka didn't seem like a bad guy, so she probably didn't leave him out on purpose. That would mean...] Then that makes Sokka your brother?

That's right. You've met?

[A nod.]

He offered to help with the barricades along with Toph. He also offered to teach me how to fish when it gets warmer out. [He tilts his head. That's going to be interesting.] He seems like a good guy.

[It's a reluctant smile, but it's real.] He is. But don't tell him I said that.

Fishing, huh?

Heh. I think I understand. [Except Caesar tends not to say nice things about his brother in public ever.]

I told him I could use a hobby when I'm not working, and he suggested that. It doesn't sound difficult.

I guess that depends how 'sporting' you want to be about it. Sokka has this thing about outsmarting the fish, and he says I'm cheating when I bend them out.

But it's not a bad way to spend time, if you've got nothing else to do. ...don't tell him I said that either.

Edited 2010-02-20 06:03 (UTC)

I can't say I blame you. It's kind of hard to have a skill like that and not use it to your advantage, right? But it'll be nice to have something else to do, I guess.

[She nods] Especially if you're just waiting to catch one for dinner, and you still have to skin it and debone it and everything... but if you're killing time, trying to outsmart the fish isn't a bad way to go.

...the guide said that the animals here talk, though. I think it would be hard to eat a talking fish.

I don't think I'd catch them to eat. It would be like eating a duck clansmen or something. [A brief pause, since it occurs to him that she'd probably have no idea what he's talking about.] In my world, we have demi-humans—animals that share human qualities. There's an entire clan of duck people in the Grasslands, for example. Talking animals always makes me think of them.

...a clan of duck people?

[Cue giggling]

Oh wow. That is fantastic. Oh man, Aang would love that. Oh, he'd flip.

And they're just like regular people? Are they the same size as regular ducks -- which would probably be like turtleducks, right? About this big? [Indicates a regular turtleduck size with her hands - perfectly normal birdshaped.]

[Her reaction suggests they definitely don't have things like that where she comes from. |D Somehow, though, he isn't too surprised.]

Nope, they're bigger than that, but they're just like normal people. There's also the lizard clan. They're even bigger, and pretty intimidating, too. They also have terrible tempers. [He would know!] There are also the Kobolds, who are like dogs, and in Falena, I hear they even have beavers.

That sounds amazing. So many different kinds of people in one world... it's hard to imagine!

...I guess it's a bit like this place, with so many people coming from so many different places. [She looks down for a second, not wanting to reveal an unpleasantly sober thought: No wonder his world trains strategists like blacksmiths.]

There were just the Four Nations back home. It's hard to imagine so many different people and places. [She laughs.] I never even saw anyone with your colored hair before I got here.

Yeah, in that sense, it kind of is like this place. Even our army had a very diverse range of people, despite all having been recruited in the same general area of the continent. But then... it's kind of hard to imagine a place with only four separate nations, so I understand what you mean.

[Pfft, Caesar finds that comment amusing. No one's ever pointed out his hair before. He grins.] Really? It runs in our family, but I guess it wasn't very common back home, either.

I like it! [Blush. OK. She didn't mean to say that. Cue babble.] I mean, I've met so many people with different colors of hair here, yellow and even a darker red than yours, and Rydia's hair is green which is just... it almost makes her look part spirit! Not that I've seen a lot of spirits, you understand, but I've seen a few. They don't all look like humans, but the ones that did -- one had dark hair and the others was the color of the moon. Which makes sense, when you think about it since Yue was the moon.

[Written/Action] .002

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