[ Action, Voice, and looooooooooove ] .039

[markofthebrave]

[Backdated to yesterday, after her conversation with Suki, Katara has a brother to kill. Confront. Comfort? Whatever.

She looks high. She looks low. She looks... lower. Someone is coming down the stairs to your mancave, Sokka.]

[Meanwhile, this morning, Suki is feeling... less depressed and Sokka is still away from the house and everything feels wrong. Katara's a few steps short of miserable, because this is not the way things are supposed to go. She attends school, finishes some afternoon errands, and just... stares at the journal system for a while. A lot of people still seem to be very happy, and she does not want to bring them down, and she doesn't want to expose Suki or Sokka to anything but...

But.]

...is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that some people are acting... not like themselves?

((ooc: Katara's first post chronologically goes to savethelastchip. Tag as you will!))

Comments

[ voice ]

[markofthebrave]

The bridge by your apartment building? That's about halfway, right?

[Suddenly she really, really wants to see him. He'll help this make sense.]

[ voice ]

[savethelastchip.livejournal.com]

That's right.

I'll be there as soon as I can. [ Excuse him while he probably leaves Shikamaru in the dust like a boss. ]

[ voice --> action ]

[markofthebrave]

Thanks, Chouji.

[And she sets off herself. She'll be there as soon as she can.]

[ action ]

[savethelastchip.livejournal.com]

[ Chouji will be there, as promised, with a very genuine smile at the ready for Katara.

...has he always looked forward to seeing her this much? ]

Hey, Katara.

[ action ]

[markofthebrave]

[Oh Chouji, she is so glad to see you. She doesn't stop walking until she can give you a brief hug - or at least a hug that starts out brief. It's such a relief to see him that it takes an extra second or two to pull back.]

Hey. I'm really glad to see you.

[ action ]

[savethelastchip.livejournal.com]

[ H-hug attack. This is somewhat fluster-inducing, but he puts forth his best efforts not to make it obvious, reaching an arm around to give her a careful hug in return. ]

Y-yeah, you too. [ AT LEAST WE'RE NOT ACTING STRANGELY TODAY, RIGHT. ]

[ action ]

[markofthebrave]

[NO, OF COURSE NOT. KATARA'S DEPRESSED AND THEY'RE MEETING ON A BRIDGE AND EVERYTHING.

...but what may be strange is that while they'll usually talk, it usually takes a bit more for Katara to open up. But when she does pull back, she settles a bit closer to him than normal and just starts to talk.]

Everything's a mess at home. Sokka and Suki broke up and Sokka told her - and me - that he'd been in love with someone else the whole time. But I know that's not true. And Suki was in her room crying all day yesterday and today she's leaving the room growling death threats and then going back to talk to this other guy... I don't know what to do.

[...and maybe she'd never admit that last part out loud either.]

[ action ]

[savethelastchip.livejournal.com]

[ A little blinking at the direct launch into the source of the problem- she isn't usually the type to just hand him answers- but...it's kind of nice to think she trusts him enough for that, too.

And you know. That sounds like a really serious problem, actually. It's one thing to traumatize people with hallucinations; at least their friends and loved ones still meant the same thing to them when all was said and done.

(He thinks that these are the times when it would pay to be smarter or wiser. Because he would really like to be helpful.) ]

Seeing people get hurt can be as bad as being the one getting hurt. [ Pause. ] If it's something the Malnosso are doing, it might come down to waiting things out and doing everything you can to help when he's acting like himself again.

[ action ]

[markofthebrave]

[Talking about the problem is somehow so much easier than talking about how... well, how she just feels so much better now that you're there, and would you mind maybe swinging your arm around her shoulders because that felt kind of nice, and she'd really like to just stand there in silence and watch the water and lean on you for a little while.

So she just rests her hands on the rail instead, and her shoulders hunch a little, and maybe she subconsciously leans just a bit closer, because even though she shouldn't because she hasn't told him how she feels, it's just... really, really nice, okay?]

I know. I just... don't understand why they would do something like this. What do they find out by making Sokka think he fell in love with someone else?

[I hate this so much.]

[ action ]

[savethelastchip.livejournal.com]

[ Putting an arm around her shoulders is possibly one of the first considerations that he makes- she's right there and he's right here- but that could be overstepping boundaries, couldn't it? The last thing he wants is to upset her even more and make her leave.

He won't be moving to create extra space between them, though. ]

I think sometimes it's not really about learning for them.

[ action ]

[markofthebrave]

[There's not much else to say. She could talk more about Sokka and Suki and what they mean to her, explain why this is making her so miserable...

...but there's a certain amount of peace that comes just from being so close to him, and right now that's what she wants to focus on because she knows she can't stay. They both have responsibilities and.. people they're looking out for. It's probably selfish of her, to take comfort like this... but right now she doesn't care.]

[ action ] it's like I'm made of little tl;dr bursts, idek

[savethelastchip.livejournal.com]

[ Chouji can understand feeling quieter than usual. Everybody has their days, after all, and he'd probably have to raise an eyebrow at anybody who could cheerfully carry on without even batting an eye during unpleasant circumstances. Besides, nobody needs to keep talking when they don't want to. ]

With as many things as Luceti sees happen, it's easy to wind up worrying about people you know. I really admire how well you manage it, Katara. [ Kind of knows that one from experience, honestly. And this is where his tone gets softer, because he's not much of the pressing type (wouldn't normally ask this out loud at all), but part of him suddenly really just wants to know. And that would be his hand on the railing right next to yours. Seeing as randomly taking a person's hand wouldn't be polite at all. ] But do you ever get to just worry about yourself?

[ action ] pfff, remember who you're talking to here >>

[markofthebrave]

[His words of praise mean a bit more than anyone else's, and Katara lets them soothe her even though she doesn't particularly feel like she's doing a great job managing anything. As far as she knows, nothing's gone right all week.

...and his asking that question only makes her feel as though she failed even further, if she's causing him to worry. No one should have to worry about her, especially not Chouji.]

There's no need to worry about me. I'm fine. [But then she glances down, focuses on their hands so close together, but not touching. Her voice is softer when she speaks.] But... thank you. For asking. And for listening.

[ action ] so it's all your fault then *nod*

[savethelastchip.livejournal.com]

[ ...liar. ]

That's what I'm here for. [ For worrying, and asking, and listening, and because he knows for a fact that saying you're fine doesn't make it the truth.

She deserves to think of herself more. He would really like to see that. ]

[ action ] /freely takes blame

[markofthebrave]

I know - you've always been willing to listen to me, ever since we met.

[This... really wasn't a good time. She knew that, somewhere. But it maybe it was something about how relieved she'd been that as soon as she spoke to him she knew she'd have someone to talk to, maybe it was the way that he consistently kept asking after her, but not in a way that made her feel that he was looking down on her - in a way that made her feel like he... cared. Maybe it was staring at their hands - his bigger one so close next to her smaller, darker one. But suddenly Katara is certain of her feelings, feelings that she's confused for friendship for so long... they were so deeper than that.

And she's not ashamed of the sudden - gladness that she feels. At least something good came of this mess. At least now she knows.

And then she glances up at him and gathers her courage, her hope showing clearly in her eyes.]

Do you ever worry about yourself?

[ action ]

[savethelastchip.livejournal.com]

[ With that look combined with the question, he has to smile. Katara's always been nothing but honest, something he really respects- but she's always been very kind, too.

And maybe it feels like his heart is beating a little too quickly, and his stomach's turning over in a way that has nothing to do with being hungry. And maybe he doesn't mind it at all.

Chouji's not really familiar with the feeling, but he knows what it is and that this is something that feels very genuine, and it hardly surprises him at all when he thinks about it, of course. He's never been one to put his emotions out of the equation, even when it would be better to try doing just that. ]

Guess you've got me there.

[ action ]

[markofthebrave]

[Okay, Katara. This is it. It's not fair for him not to know, so - so take a deep breath, put your brave face on, and say it.

Deep breath. And she glances down at their hands one last time before turning to face him.]

Then maybe... maybe we could worry about each other. [Oh - this is terrible.] I mean... the thing is... [just spit it out, Katara] you've always been a good friend, but I think that you deserve to know that.. I think of you as more than that.

[She starts to blush, and looks to the side.] It's okay if you don't feel the same way, but I just thought that you deserved to know.

[ action ] I never thought to procure icons for moments like these.

[savethelastchip.livejournal.com]

[ For what it's worth, Katara isn't the only one doing a bit of blushing by the time she gets through talking. Chouji lifts his other hand so he can scratch at the back of his head nervously, not exactly striving to establish eye contact himself.

How did people ever do this kind of thing? (except he can understand it very well)

Honesty is always the best policy, is it not, Katara. Especially when the people involved are busy looking in different directions. ]

A-aa... I do feel the same way, actually.

[ action ] I've got mine 'cause of that one kissing meme

[markofthebrave]

[A quick little intake of breath and her eyes dart over to seek his. Her voice is very small.] Oh.

[And then she smiles, but so happy it's like someone turned on a light inside her.] Good. I'm glad.

[And she'll just... edge her hand over on the railing to rest it on top of his, blushing.]

[ action ] my tl;dr died. go figure.

[savethelastchip.livejournal.com]

[ And he will be very happy to turn that hand over to hold hers. ]

Yeah.