[ Action, Voice ] .043

[markofthebrave]

[All right, enough of this. It's Spring and she still loves Spring (only her third Spring ever!) and Katara has decided she is going to enjoy it. No school today, so in the late morning to mid afternoon, if you are by the paths along the river you will see one (1) Katara, with a basket and her knife, taking cuttings of wildflowers. She's careful not to take too much from any one tree or bush, and she's clearly enjoying herself.]

[General Voice]
I think my favorite part about Spring is the flowers. We just didn't have anything like this where I grew up. Although in the summers I'd go on a hunt for Mouse Ears. [She pauses, remembering the last time she'd done that...] Or at least I did when I was a kid. I even found one once!

But for all you people who grew up with flowers like this - what was it like, in your Springs? Did you have any fun flower traditions?

[And after the wildflowers have been turned into bouquets, it's time to go visiting! If she hasn't seen you or heard from you in a while, and she knows where you live, your house/apartment is Fair Game.

There are, however, a few people she needs to speak with about a few specific things, so it's time for some courtesy filters! These are not very strong and mostly to prevent your journals from spam]

[Filtered to Shikamaru]
Hey - you up for a spar later?

[Filtered to Nami]
...are those mikans still up for grabs?

[Filtered to Trafalgar Law]
...would you mind if I stopped by?

[Filtered to Zoro]
...hey. I haven't seen you, and I think we should talk.


[Hmm. That was everyone she needed to talk to, right? Hopefully that was it. If it wasn't, she hopes she'll bump into people during the day. Like Sokka - an idea has occurred to her which needs discussing.]

Comments

[ voice ]

[acowardlyoak.livejournal.com]

You hunted for mice?

[ voice ] 1/2

[markofthebrave]

[...]

[ voice ]

[markofthebrave]

Yes. Fierce mice. For their incredibly large ears.

[voice]

[poorneedyand.livejournal.com]

[People here ask the funniest questions--but the novelty of talking to a book is still new enough that she's perfectly happy to answer.]

My older sisters taught me to make daisy chains when I was a little girl. And there was May Day, of course. We'd make little baskets out of paper scraps, fill them with wildflowers, and leave them at neighbours' doorsteps.

These days I don't do much more than go for a walk in the park and look at all the flowers and green grass there.

[voice]

[markofthebrave]

[Oh - an unfamiliar voice and picture. A New Feather?]

Was May Day a holiday? What did it celebrate?

[mikangirl.livejournal.com]

[...How to handle Katara.]

...I got rid of them all, unfortunately. [Mostly to other people, but what was left was well spoiled a day or two ago.] But... if you wanted some, there are a few left on the very high branches. I was trying to get them down.

[Friendly and casual, we has it.]

[markofthebrave]

I'm sorry I missed them. I would like to try some, if you don't mind a visit.

[What, this is totally not a thinly veiled excuse.

...at least Katara does love mikans?]

[Voice//Filtered from Legato/Yuber]

[goldenglasses]

You should come to the flower shop! We have lots of flowers to look at there!

[VASH LOVES FLOWERS!]

[Voice//Filtered from Legato/Yuber]

[markofthebrave]

[Katara laughs.]

I'll bet you do - but that's not the same thing as seeing them growing.

[action]

[frost_jewel]

[Someone new is walking along the river today. She doesn't seem to really be watching where she's going, keeping her eyes on the water as she walks instead.

Hopefully she doesn't trip over Katara.]

[action]

[markofthebrave]

[That would be bad, as this knife she is carrying is very sharp. However, although Katara's bending down and cutting off some wildflowers, she hears the sound of someone approaching and turns her head in time to call out-]

Hello!

[Voice]

[no-use-running.livejournal.com]

[It's been awhile since Ami's talked to Katara. So she answers after just a little while.]

Someone I knew back home loved flowers very much. I used to pick some for Mama when I was younger, too.

[Voice]

[markofthebrave]

[There's a bit of a pang at that.]

Did you have a lot of them growing where you grew up?

voice

[stilldontgotit.livejournal.com]

When you live on an island, flowers are pretty hard to miss. They grew just about everywhere.

voice

[markofthebrave]

If it's a warm island, maybe. [But her tone is warm and engaging.]

So you had a lot of them where you grew up?

[deathsdoctor]

No. I wouldn't mind. Come on by.

[He glances at the goldfish he hasn't returned yet and decides to make tea while he waits.

... one good thing about having a pact with Eferin is that he can now boil the water in his apartment without having to step out to the kitchen. Lazy, yes, but a good practice of using fire magic without actually making flames. And it keeps his mind from any feelings of trepidation that may arise.

He sets out a cup for her.]

[markofthebrave]

All right. I'll come by soon.

[And... it's strange. It's very strange to be walking through this building as someone who doesn't live there.

As someone who needs to knock on this door.

She shifts her basket around a little nervously - breathe - and then does so.]

[weightlesscrab.livejournal.com]

The week of cherry blossoms blooming is often an excuse for many people to line the parks with their blankets, which they sit on while they admire the beauty of the flowers and get completely drunk.

[markofthebrave]

Oh, really? That sounds really beautiful.

[ voice ]

[herotypical]

They weren't wildflowers but...mom'd start prepping her garden in Spring.

[ voice ]

[markofthebrave]

[Oh, hey, Buffy! She hasn't spoken with you in a while. Have a smile.]

That makes sense. It sounds like a nice tradition to have.

[Written]

[onlykissesgirls.livejournal.com]

In my world there was no Spring. Simply rainy and dry seasons.

[Written]

[markofthebrave]

[Huh. Handwriting she doesn't recognize... but when she gets a minute, she'll respond in kind.]

That sounds interesting - it was that way for the whole world, not just your country?

[markofthewise]

[Like... Sokka, you say? He won't be hard to find. Follow the sound of loud power tools behind the house. His present from the Malnosso is getting good use finally as he goes through the process of converting the very last of Kefka's 'tree rain' into usable lumber. Most of what's leftover isn't going to be of much use, but at this point it's all he's got left without chopping trees down.]

[markofthebrave]

[Katara returns from her errands, emotionally drawn, and hears the sound of Loud Power Tools in the back. Ah. There he is. Good.

...so she will just go in the house first, set the bouquet she saved for them on the table, and get herself together before heading out there.

...those things are still kind of scary to her, so she waits until he's not actively cutting.]

Hey, Sokka.

[ action ]

[wise_maiden]

[Raine's making use of the spring afternoon to tend to the garden and do other outdoorsy things-- some curtains are hanging to dry on a line between the house and the former stable, there's a painting drying on an easel near the side of the house, and she's checking through the garden, making sure that all the plants are still thriving -- the ones still in season, anyway.]

[ action ]

[markofthebrave]

[And here comes Katara with a basket in-hand! She is currently on the other side of the curtains than Raine, so she calls out-]

Hello?

[Filtered]

[endgames]

[Flowers, huh? Well. He's a guy so he has nothing to comment on that. Nothing at all.

...but it does remind him of Ino.]

How later is 'later'?

[Also. Bumping up the filter. 8|]

[Private]

[markofthebrave]

[She looks at the filter in amusement. Made it private, did he? Gosh, Shikamaru.]

I don't know. Later.

[She pauses, considers who she's talking to - not too lazy up make the filter private but lazy enough to put 'later' off forever...] Soon? Tonight or in the next few days.

/late

[lostinmyway]

[Someone else is out picking wildflowers, too! Grune is humming away to herself, getting distracted by the occasional glimmer on the river or bee bumbling by, when she notices Katara.]

Hello!

no worries!

[markofthebrave]

[Katara approaches from further down the river.]

Hello! Oh, those look pretty. Do you mind if I take a few too?

[voice]

[alabastajewel]

Alabasta is a desert island, so we don't have as many flowers as they do here. But when they bloom, it looks even more beautiful.

[voice]

[markofthebrave]

Wow, really? I didn't know any kind of flowers grew in the desert.

[voice] ...and backdated to the 7th >.>

[threeswordsoul.livejournal.com]

[After the initial blank shock spent wandering around Luceti after...after, Zoro has spent most of his time meditating. Mostly on Nami and...everything, because nothing else compares with how unforgivable that everything was, but after a long pause, he answers Katara in fairly short order.

She's been on his mind a lot, too. Neutral:]

If you want.

[voice] but of course!

[markofthebrave]

[Not really. They don't have anything but a nodding relationship in comparison to some of the other ones she has to try to patch up - she doesn't even know what her goal is here except to face the awkwardness and continue to move forward.

...and what Sokka would term a 'hairbrained scheme' begins to form. OK, he might call it something less flattering, but still.]

Where would you like to meet?