markofthebrave | [ Action, Voice ] .043

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[ Action, Voice ] .043

[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.]

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Of course not. We're creatures of the night, apparently.

[Or so everyone keeps saying. ~~Nevermind there hasn't been a single, canon nighttime battle in the history of Naruto]~~

I have it on good authority that ninja also hide behind rocks and shout 'kya!' when the go to attack people.

Pfft. Please. Any respectable ninja knows a bush has better cover.

Oh, of course.

[Katara - hesitates. She doesn't really want to get into this. But... it was only fair. And even though things... haven't really gone well these past couple of days while she's tried it she's not going to stop trying to do what she feels is right.]

Hey, Shikamaru?

Hm?

[She'd thought about it. Not on purpose, and not because she wanted to know, but because it had happened. She knew what his dreams had been about. And he'd probably figured that out too.]

I'm... sorry. That I know more than what you would have chosen to tell me yourself.

Edited 2011-05-20 06:58 (UTC)

A water...bender? What does that mean?

[The problem is, Nami doesn't know how to explain this. It's a tangle of too many threads and she has no idea how to begin untangling it. Or where to begin explaining. Or even if she should.

In the end, Katara's silence is too painful, and Nami speaks just to fill it.]

I spent... close to eight years stealing from pirates, bigger and stronger and tougher than I was. You don't... you don't succeed at that unless you're smarter than they are. Or you find something-- a way to distract them. Nearly all pirates are men, did you know? But despite that--

[...

...] I--

[--shouldn't be talking about this.]

...I'll work it out.

[...

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what she's talking about.]

[He makes a small grunt to acknowledge he heard her and keeps walking, rolling his head away from her and up towards the sky again, lazily.

The clouds are steadily turning various shades of pink and purple, touched by the sun as it draws closer to setting. He likes them better when they're fluffy and white, or wispy trails across blue. He can appreciate both, though, he thinks.

Thinks about the sky because for years it was the best thing to think about when he didn't want to think about anything else.]

[Katara lets him passed her, frowning a little. Again. That still hadn't made it better. It seemed like nothing she tried did -

- but this wasn't about his old wounds. This was about choice and trust. And friendship. And maybe there was something she could do. On impulse, she runs to catch up with him.]

I can try to make it even.

Oh, I'm picking flowers, visiting...

[She sighs a little.]

I'm going to try to talk to some people about the last experiment.

[She figured she might as well enjoy herself first.]

Even?

[His tone is just as casual as ever, though maybe hints of "what are you talking about?" somewhere in there.]

[She thinks - fleetingly - of telling a story of her future. But it hasn't happened yet. It's not a True Thing. It wouldn't be equivalent.]

You can ask me whatever you want, even something I normally wouldn't answer. And I'll tell you.

[She's not... thinking about the consequences here, or the types of question he would ask - not even thinking of he'd find the offer ludicrous, that there was nothing about her he wanted to know. It's the offer that's important, she thinks. And the fact that she'd back it up.]

[He knows what she's getting at - anything literally means anything. It's a serious show of choice and trust, on her part. He appreciates the gesture more than the apology.

At the same time, he thinks it's about the stupidest thing he's heard. He doesn't want to learn anything about her like that, and he opens his mouth to say it-]

Anything, huh?

[...but those are the words that come out instead. What can he say? He's tired of Big Speeches. He's had more than enough of those, for one day.

That and serious conversation.]

Okay. What're your thoughts on Chouji?

[Blink, blink - bwah? And blush.]

What?

[She was literally about to tell him that it was none of his business, that thoughts on another person should be private to them, but - but that was the point of this, wasn't it. She takes a moment to gather her scattered thoughts before answering with her accustomed straightforwardness.]

I'd normally tell you that this wasn't about me, it was about what I thought about someone else, and talking about other people and that... doesn't feel right. But. I don't think Chouji would mind if I told you, so I guess it counts.

Chouji's... always been really kind to me, since even before we were friends. I think I'm lucky to know him. He's really easy-going, and talking with him is like... talking with someone you can tell anything to. He really cares about people, and he tries to see what's best in them - and I admire that. [They do have slightly different brands of optimism, after all.]

I think he's really strong, not just physically, but - his heart is strong. [She glances over at him.] He's an amazingly loyal friend to you. And he'd be a good friend to anyone.

...sometimes I wonder if it's really healthy how much he eats. I know it has to do with his jutsus, but I've seen Luffy and Trafalgar eat too and they store the food differently, but Chouji still moves like he's healthy so I guess it really is fine.

[A short breath before she addresses this squarely, because she's guessing it's why he asked-] I think I was lucky to be matched with him in February. Not everyone would have - been so nice about the whole thing. But the best part was being able to talk and get to know him more; that part wasn't made up. It was really weird right after it ended. [I hadn't wanted it to end.] But we got through it.

I trust him. And I'd miss him a lot if we remembered people when we go back home. But for now I'm just going to keep on being his friend.

We're smart people. We'll figure out an appropriate speed and suspiciousness level while we're doing it. It's not like I've made a chart for that or anything.

[He'll do that later.]

Edited 2011-05-20 11:31 (UTC)

... I see. [She frowns faintly, taking a sip.] Had enough time to let things settle?

Are there many different continents where you lived?

Oh, my, that's too bad. Watching all the different seasons go by is so much fun!

It takes a certain level of self-confidence to stand out against it and break the mold. Most people don't posses that sort of confidence, and those that do don't always feel the need to express it.

Ah. Mostly. But that's sort of the point. I don't want things to settle wrongly. [She looks down and shrugs.] Sometimes you need to set the bone before it can heal properly.

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[ Action, Voice ] .043

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