markofthebrave | [ 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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...

[brb looking around >_> ...Well, he doesn't see any—wait. What's that.]

Made of stone?

That's right.

[Is she really going to do this?

...she doesn't see that she has any other choice.]

Just stay there, okay? I'll meet you there.

[Amidst all the other chaotic muddle, it took him three days after the experiment ended to kill the nagging feeling that he'd misplaced something vitally important. Once, when he opened his eyes and stood up after meditating for hours, the chime of his own earrings took him off-guard.

He doesn't know what to expect from this, but he's not about to deny that it needs to happen. Warm as some of these false experiences and half-remembered impressions are, they're false. With someone he knows as relatively little as Katara...they have no place.]

Yeah, I'll wait.

[And so, although her other conversations have worn her thin... Katara 'borrows' one of her brother's canoes and loads it with the proper supplies. The canoe cuts the time it would take to get down to the lake in half or less, at considerably less strain than it would be for her to bend herself down there.

She handles the canoe well, with long familiarity, and if he's watching the river he should see her coming before she steers the boat the shore and hops out to pull it to ground.]

Hey.

[He does see her, is waiting on the bank actually, and when she comes in he automatically hooks one hand in the bow of the canoe and pulls it in without effort.]

Hey. [He sees her bo in the boat, but doesn't think much of it, more focused on Katara herself.]

Thanks.

[...so, yes, this casual demonstration of strength is enough that if she was in this just to win she might think twice right about now. But she has another motivation for reaching into the boat and taking out her bo.

But she doesn't even bother to hide the more than casual assessment she flicks over him - has he been out here this whole time? how is he taking it?]

I'd try to talk to you first, but I don't even know where to start. So I figured we could spar first, and talk after.

[Zoro's eyebrow lifts at that, but otherwise he stays annoyingly closed off against her assessing glance, not offering anything more than a blank wall to read into. He's watching her back, though, at least until he glances to the side and shifts his stance open - he draws Wadou in the same movement, but simply holds her loosely while gazing down her blade, point grazing the grass by his foot. It's not at all an aggressive motion or bearing; as a matter of fact it's more like he didn't draw Wadou from the intent to spar at all, that he's just thinking and the sword, as always, serves as a focus. Then he finally nods.]

This [Wadou tilts slightly, sunlight glinting off the edge] is more truthful, anyway.

[When he meets her eyes again his expression has opened up more than a little, head tilting with curious, probing intent]

...You don't remember the yari, huh?

Edited 2011-05-17 01:56 (UTC)

I never learned it. [The emphasis is faint, but present.] But I remember using it. It's a good weapon.

[One she wouldn't mind learning again. The bo was a good introduction to weaponry. But now she knows that drafts call for her to be more deadly than merciful. She starts walking away from the canoe - Sokka won't be happy if it gets damaged.]

He fought with her. [And from a decent distance away, she turns to face him.] This is a first.

[So don't be expecting the same moves. You're fighting a master waterbender now.]

[ Action, Voice ] .043

[voice]

[voice]

[voice]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action] 1/2

[action]

[action]