markofthebrave | [ Action, Voice ] .042

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[ Action, Voice ] .042

[Even Katara can only deny the effects of the dreams so long. It wasn't so bad at first when they were just vivid and of a different Luceti... but this other world, with these strange people she feels connected to, and the strange consistency of them, as if they were actually telling a story...

...and she knows the dreams have been effecting her dad too. And that it hasn't been good. So... she's going to take today to do maybe what she should have done from the start.]

[Filtered to Sokka]

Hey, I need to talk to you. What time can I come by?

[Filtered to Zuko]

...can we meet later?

[Filtered to Chouji]
I know this is weird, but have you been dreaming that we--

[Filtered to Shikamaru]
Did we ever--

[Filtered to Masaomi]
Don't take this the wrong way, but I had a dream about us, and we were fighting. You broke my rib, but it wasn't a bad thing and I can't stop thinking about--

[Filtered to Nami]
...have you been having dreams that we were friends, once?

[Filtered to Ginko]
Ginko... have you ever heard of parasites that... live in the dark and steal sight from people's eyes, and can be drawn out by moonlight?

[Filtered to San]
I dreamed you had come into my house for food, that you drew a knife and nearly attacked Sokka, and I had to knock you down.

[Filtered to Sanji]
Sanji, did we ever...

[Filtered to Jet]
I - you - there was a dam that -

[Katara abruptly shoves away from her journal, scribbling through her filters madly. Checking with Sokka and Zuko would be enough. She didn't want to go and get people upset or excited about something that may or may not be true. She hesitates for a long moment at the doorway to her father's room, contemplating knocking and asking him-

What have you been dreaming about, Dad? They haven't stopped. Do you think they mean something?

-but eventually she just writes a note that she's going to spend some time practicing, picks up her yari, and heads into the forest. She's almost hoping to see one of the beasties everyone's been talking about. She could do with a good fight against something she can actually touch.]

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[Katara, meanwhile, is following through with a vicious backwards jab at the back of the Beastie's neck. To hamstring a beast and then leave it alive is just cruel.

Unfortunately, the animal doesn't seem to realize that Katara is trying to do it a favor, and it makes a vicious swipe at her with its foreleg. She's fast enough to jump back and take advantage of the way it falls off balance, but it's a close thing.]

Edited 2011-05-04 01:56 (UTC)

[At least neither one will be following them now - and he's hoping the stench of the stink bombs will at least throw them off for a little while if they try.

Making sure they are dead, or just finishing them off would probably be the best way to go about it. But Shikamaru doesn't like killing things when it's not necessary, and right now he's not sure if it even is.

...and the blood. That just has him unsettled right now.

He gets ready to bolt, stopping by where Katara is, making sure she's all right but turned to go as soon as she's ready.

He'd probably, you know, just ask. But yeah. Stink bombs. He hasn't even taken a whiff and his eyes are watering.]

[She exchanges a glance with him and tilts her head - right so, running now? Away from the stink bombs? Yes? Good.

When they get to a clearing, Katara gasps, taking a big breath of clean air, and shoves him hard on the shoulder.]

You could have warned me!

Edited 2011-05-05 22:05 (UTC)

[He grunts, but takes it, rubbing his shoulder where she shoved him.]

I'm sorry, you seemed tired of talk.

[Please. He should just be glad all she did was shove his shoulder.]

That's not the same thing and you know it, Shikamaru!

[He puts his hands up, placating. Such a troublesome woman. Rather than argue though, he knows to quit while he's ahead.]

Okay, okay. I'm sorry, all right?

Hmph. You should be.

[And she starts walking, dropping it - which is as good as an 'I forgive you.' to that 'not really apology, I'm just saying this to get you to stop' line that Shikamaru gave her. At least she's not forcing the issue with hypotheticals along the lines of 'what if I hadn't held my breath and one of those THINGS attacked me while I was gagging' or the like. She's sure he gets the point.]

...why were they chasing you, anyway?

[They didn't seem to care at all that she was there, after all.]

...I dunno. [He sounds genuinely unsure about it too, and maybe just a little anxious.]

I came out here looking for Raph, but ran into one of those things instead, even though I was trying to be stealthy. The second one showed up not long after that, and they just kept... following me.

[He shrugs as if it's no big deal, but he's still moving. The further away they are, the better.]

[She glances behind them and starts paying more attention to the undergrowth.] You can't hide from the nose.

[So don't feel too bad about fail!stealth.] And neither can they.

[So have some backhanded praise for the stink bombs - because if they were tracking you by scent they're going to have a hard time doing that now, since they both reek.]

[That wins a grin.]

Heh. That's the plan, anyways.

[...even if he'd had something else in mind for those stink bombs. Oh well.]

[Katara takes a look around where they'd headed in their blind run... and starts leading them to the left, back to town.]

It's weird that they were so focused on you. You'd think if they were interested in people, they'd come further into the village.

[He shoves his hands into his pockets, looking down at his feet.]

From what I've heard, they've mostly been avoiding people. They just don't hesitate to defend themselves, and they can get nasty if they have to. [As they just saw.]

It didn't look like they were 'avoiding' you.

[They had you cornered. In a tree.]

[Hey, he jumped in the tree, okay. 8|]

Maybe they thought I was carrying around some dog kibble - I dunno.

[Maybe they're what drag people off into the woods.]

[This is a sigh that says 'she knows that you can guess better than that' but that 'dragging it out of you right now would be too much of a pain' so she is just going to frown and keep walking as she thinks it over.]

[He has nothing else to add for a while, though he turns back to look behind them once or twice. It's not like he's overly fond of Raph or anything, but he's still not a bad guy. He feels guilty walking away.

But he doesn't want to turn back.]

Thanks for helping, by the way.

You're welcome. [It's said with a smile, but now that the adrenaline is fading, Katara is just... tired.

And she's sure he would have been fine anyway, stinkbombs and all, but it's not like she knew who was up in the tree.]

[Exactly, which makes him wonder:]

What were you doing out there, anyways?

I was taking a walk. [This in a determinedly cheerful 'you want to make something of it' tone.

If he's smart enough not to take immediate issue, she'll continue.]

[In the forest everyone's been saying 'STAY AWAY FROM, BIG NASTY BEASTIES'?

Yeah, not saying anything, but she does get this look.]

[Yes, in that forest. And you can't talk, you were out there too. But the silence is rewarded with a further explanation.]

I needed to clear my head.

[...and may have been spoiling for a fight. She hasn't liked her dreams. At all.]

[For a different reason!]

Aa. So you thought that doing something dangerous was the best way to do it.

[Said blandly. He knows Katara can handle herself. Picking fights with things he'd be content to avoid is just something his friends consider a good idea for stress-relief.

His friends are so troublesome.]

[Don't you take take that done with her. 8|]

I thought a walk would be a good way of doing it. If I happened to bump into something dangerous, well... [stress relief. And she shrugs.] ...at least that way I'd be fighting something real.

[A questioning look. Because that's an interesting statement.]

...as opposed to something fake?

Edited 2011-05-06 20:11 (UTC)

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