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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Thanks. [Good to have confirmation.] But honestly, I'd prefer to sit back and take it easy for another few minutes.

[There's an 'if that's all right' somewhere in there. It's not just his eyes - he's also just tired. That was a lot of jutsu in a short amount of time. And an excuse not to think about everything he has to think about when he's done here is nice.

...and something is still wrong.]

Fine. [That's said a little too sharply, like she's reacting to a slap. She drops her hand, attempts to ground herself with a slightly more gentle-] Suit yourself.

[She stands up and takes a few steps away from him. With her back to him, Katara crosses her arms, and stares out into nothing.

She needs to get it together. She doesn't like herself like this. Even if it's all true, and she's completely worthless, she needs to find a way to accept that, live with it, and move on. That doesn't mean she stops watching. It doesn't mean she stops trying. She'd rather be nothing and still trying than simply be nothing at all.]

Edited 2011-05-14 07:35 (UTC)

[He sighs again, frustrated by the situation, but says nothing for the time being.

She had wanted to be left alone... so she at least deserves some time to think through whatever's going on in her head before he interrupts. Shikamaru keeps his eyes on the sky again, but he's keeping an ear out for her.]

[She doesn't want to think about everything else, so she runs the spar through her mind again. Maybe she should have pressed him when he did that thing which reminded her of the octopus form instead of trying to draw him out. If she'd drawn all the water from the grass around him, she could have made it very difficult... and then turned each stream into mist as his shadows tries to catch them.

But then that would have made it even harder for her to see, and he was already operating as well as he was with his eyes closed. She let's out a frustrated sigh - still, she should have found a way to push that advantage more.

...and he's still here. There are some questions she has about his moves that he might be willing to answer, which are now bubbling to the surface from the mire of her misery. But more than that... she's aware that he's uncomfortable and frustrated and it's her natural inclination to want to soothe that - she's not angry at him, after all.

And her sense of fairness is niggling as well. It's not fair that he gets to see her so upset - she'd asked for this spar, after all. He hadn't signed up for this aftermath. She'd hoped it would help, and usually it would have, even with the defeat, but instead... she owes him some kind of explanation.]

I never wanted to be a healer, you know. I didn't even know that you could heal with waterbending until [she hesitates] there was an accident.

[Fire - burned down through hundreds of layers of skin - those will scar for sure - it hurts - I'm sorry, Katara! - running from him... astonishment when it just... stopped hurting.]

Yeah?

[It's curious - he's seen her heal people enough times (too recently) that between that and what she's told him, he knows the process is tightly interwoven with her waterbending.] And it made you change your mind?

[There's all kinds of questions he can ask here, but for now it seems like she has a story to tell. That makes it his place to just listen.]

Pff - no. [She glances at him over her shoulder.] It just showed me it was possible. I had been - badly burned. And when I put my hands in the water, my bending took over - restored the skin, healed the burn in a few seconds.

[I'd been worried about the scars, worried the burns were deep enough that I'd lose feeling in my hands, scared and in so much pain...]

I'd never seen anything like it. I didn't even know what had happened until Jeong-Jeong - he was a renegade Fire Nation admiral - told me that some waterbenders had the gift. It just activated on its own - I didn't know what I was doing, or how it had worked.

That's some gift.

[Especially one she could stumble upon so easily, and that it would be as simple as breathing.]

Yeah. [Some gift.

Better than nothing, anyway.

Master Pakku would be so disappointed.]

Does it bug you?

[It's a nudge. He's still waiting for the point to you telling him that.]

A little. Not in the way you're thinking. [She looks away from him again.] I wanted to be able to stop people from getting hurt. Not fumble through fixing them up after.

[And after she'd fought her way in to try to be so strong - she would have been better in the healing huts with Yugoda after all. But not even the best waterbending could heal the kind of damage this place dealt out on a regular basis. She thinks of Nami and sokka and she shuts her eyes.]

So do that when you're there to.

[He says this matter-of-factually. Maybe it seems as if he's missed the point, or worse - that he got it and dismissed it.

It's neither of these things. He's just telling her her option as he sees it.]

[A hand goes up to rub at her eyes - shut-up, you saw nothing - before she turns to look at him over her shoulder again.]

What do you mean?

[ffff he really didn't this time]

This place is a pain in the ass, and it's not going to stop being one anytime soon. You're not always going to be able to there for your friends - that's just the way things are. It sucks and you can feel bad about it, but that's the way it is.

["They're bothering you too, aren't they."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"]

If you need to vent, that's one thing, but thinking about it isn't going to make you feel better. So don't dwell on it. Just help your friends where you can.

[Guess that flashbomb was good for something. 8|

...she looks away from him again and wraps her arms around herself. She didn't need to vent. She needs to get home.

But she is, unfortunately, stronger than this. She's seen her friends fall before. And she hates not being able to help them. The issue with Sokka is something else, but for the others...

...she just has to trust them.

...and if that doesn't work, she'll have to try again later. They're not allowed to give up. And neither is she.

And so, ignoring the still-sick feeling in her stomach, Katara turns around.]

There's someone I think you should talk to.

[What, this transition makes perfect sense in her mind.]

[They'll make it happen someday.]

Yeah. Whoever the hell made you those flash bombs. [...because he wants some. Easier model than the ones he carries.

From his tone and the half-smirk on his face, his vision's obviously improving, though.]

[Blink, blink. Okay, not where she was going with that at all - but the fact that he brought them up like this makes her feel a little lighter. She leans back on one foot, the tiniest bit of a sly smile actually managing to work its way onto her face.]

They surprised you, didn't they.

Tch. Ninja don't get surprised.

[He was surprised. 8|]

[Pfff.] Sure.

[She moves over and lightly prods the soul of his foot with the tip of her own.]

Can you see yet?

[Because if you hadn't been surprised you would have totally closed your eyes, right?]

Shuddup.

[Yes, he would like some cheese with that whine.]

Heh. [It's not much to gloat about, surprising him once. Not when he's won anyway. Still.]

I'm glad that part worked, at least.

Che, you would be. Why are all the girls I know so sadistic?

[You did good, though, is what he wants to say. He's not the type to repeat himself, however, especially when she's not interested in hearing it.

He meant what he said though. No one has ever tried that with him before in a spar - not Ino, or Chouji, or even Asuma.]

Edited 2011-05-19 07:06 (UTC)

[Hey, she's not sadistic! And she rushes to clarify.] The part where it surprised you.

[Because it did, ha, she knows it did.] You getting spots in your eyes was just a.. bonus.

[And she sobers a little.] I figured you could handle it.

[You told me not to hold back, after all.]

I can. [He tilts his head away from the sky to look at her - much as he can anyways. Her profile is a lot clearer now, at least.] Doesn't mean I enjoyed it.

You still won, so quit whining. [And yes, she's smiling and her tone's quite a bit lighter.

...what had she been about to say again?]

Yeah, yeah. [Back to the clouds again.] So you mentioned a guy?

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