[ 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

[markofthebrave]

[...]

I spoke with Trafalgar earlier. I don't know if it helped. [I'm not sure if seeing me is ever going to stop reminding him...]

[And she hesitates but - decides that this sort of honesty, that the use of his name, could be healing for both of them. And it's certainly not going to make things worse.]

I think... straightening things out with Zoro will be harder. We don't even have a friendship to fall back on. And a week ago, he was my world. But I'm going to talk with him too. I have to.

[mikangirl.livejournal.com]

[Her lips tighten as Katara speaks. She shouldn't be surprised that Katara is on first name terms with Law. But Zoro... there's a kick of spite in her chest, and she thinks if you weren't friends then there's nothing to fix.

Too bitter by far. She swallows it and gives a faint nod.]

Zoro will appreciate the direct approach.

...what about Zuko?

[markofthebrave]

[Zuko...]

He didn't run away this time. That's... better. [Her free hand curls loosely over her heart, as if to protect it.] Falling in love with him was my first experiment here, did I ever tell you that? But... he doesn't remember any of that. I think it would have been easier if he did.

[She tries a shrug.]

Nobody else really knows how close we were in this experiment. So we agreed we'd keep it that way.

[mikangirl.livejournal.com]

...I understand.

Not running away is... a good sign. You'll be able to work it out?

[markofthebrave]

[And Katara meets Nami's gaze and goes for absolute honesty with another small shrug.] You mean pretending it never happened? Because we're doing that pretty well.

We did talk about it. I even told him about the last time because... I thought he deserved to know. We agreed to start over. [Katara shakes her head.] I guess we'll see. We're both pretty stubborn people, so... so if we work on it, we should be able to put it behind us.

[Even if it had been nice - not to think of Zuko like that. And now she can't help it, not really.]

[mikangirl.livejournal.com]

...good luck.

[She means it. Though they both know pretending it never happened is bound to blow up eventually (and yet Nami finds herself wondering if she should just do the same thing)-- and she distracts herself from that thought process by glancing down at the basket and then smiling.]

They won't last long. A couple days at most.

[markofthebrave]

[Sure, she'll go with that.]

Food never lasts that long around our house. I'll be lucky if there are any left for me tomorrow.

[mikangirl.livejournal.com]

[Grin.] You better have one now, then.

[...]

Thanks for checking on me.

[markofthebrave]

I'll have one on the way back.

[She hesitates a moment and then just - steps up and throws her arms around Nami in a hug. As with most Katara hugs, the intent is brief but heartfelt.]

[mikangirl.livejournal.com]

[Each one these gets a little less surprising as we go, you know? And yet Nami holds herself still just a moment, the way she always does, before giving a faint sigh and wrapping her arms around Katara, smiling faintly into her shoulder.

You're the only one, Katara. Did you know?]

...thanks.

[Again.]