markofthebrave | [ Action, Voice ] .045

[Raine was right. A draft had come, this one worse than before - and in a place where she could be more useful than any other location. And she wasn't going.

She took a good long look at that list. And there are some people that she has to visit.

...okay, there are a lot of people she has to visit.

First stop - Shikamaru and Chouji's place. If she can't go herself, then she has to do what she can to help the people who are going out out, and that means talking with the strategist going out there who she trusts.

Next stop - Casa de Freedom Fighter. She may have put it off if her talk with Shikamaru hadn't made her realize how absolutely necessary this was.

From there... spirits, so many people... Katara takes out her journal and stares at it a bit before making a general voice post and then crafting some filters.]

If anyone - needs me for anything, or if there's anything I can do to help out before you go, I'm around. I've fought in swamps before, and although I don't know anything more about this one, I'll try to answer what I can.

[And now it's time for filters. She doesn't have anything specific to say to these people, not over the journals anyway, so the message is the same.]

[Filtered to Ginko, Masaomi, Raine, Kurt, and Sanji]

Hey. If you have time, I'd like to see you before you go.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She nods. Well, that's more than she knew.] There aren't any in my world either. But in Buffy's world, they're predators, extremely fast, extremely strong, and very deadly. It's her job at home to fight them. She's called a 'slayer.' And she's been doing it for a long time.

Vampire slayers have superhuman strength and speed, and they heal very quickly. They're also naturally good with any weapon they come across.

And Buffy's smart, too. She might not always sound like it, but I'd trust her at my back. And I know she's the kind of person to watch out for people who can't help themselves.

[He nods in agreement to that - he knows Buffy coordinates things at the combat school - indicates she's the type to look after people.]

Triple threat then. No wonder people think so highly of her. [He thinks about it.] I probably won't have to worry about her, actually. If I get the chance to work with her, all the better, but she strikes me as the type who can handle herself just fine. She's competent.

[Katara nods, smiling a little.] I think so too.

Good. Then I know I'm on the mark.

[Eyes back to the journal.] Daisy. Aa... she's the one who put up that survival guide for combat in the rain forest, right?

[Katara nods.] She's a soldier from a future, with advanced technology. I don't know much more about her than that.

[As, sadly, this takes place before her conversation with Daisy where Katara gets to paint a mecha.] But if this time is anything like before, she'll probably get to fight using her technology. She seemed like a very polite and intelligent person. I could ask her to get in touch with you, if you want.

I talked to her earlier. [Notice this trend here? >> He's trying to make the rounds.] But it wouldn't hurt for her to know she can look for me on the battlefield too.

[That she's a soldier interests him - soldiers are more agreeable when it comes to these things, he's noticed.]

[She has not yet noticed a trend, no. But she nods. Good for you, Shikamaru!]

If I see her, I'll let her know.

[Another nod; another name.] Derek Bliss.

[...he frowns in thought at that name. He's never met him here, but there's something familiar- ah. That's right. Raphael.]

Derek... [Katara frowns. This is not a frown of concentration. It's one of concern.] I might need to get back to you on that one. I haven't spoken to him in a while. He's been... fighting an illness... which has made him not like himself. But it's easy to tell if he's better or not. If he's talking, around people... then someone helped him.

[Like he wouldn't let me help him.]

...if he's not, then he's dangerous to himself and other people. But the man I knew, before he got... sick. Was a very good man. He helped train Sokka for months, he picked out the light weights I run with. He was a hunter and a warrior and someone to be trusted.

...aa. So that's what happened. How troublesome.

[He pulls one leg up onto the couch with him, still staring down at the list without moving on to the next names. If it's the latter... well. There's already a lot of dangerous people going off on this draft as it is, so it's not like they'd have nothing to worry about even if he wasn't. Just that it'd be one extra person on their side to be wary of.]

If you can find out- no, even if you can't. Let me know before we leave. I can plan for both scenarios and find out for myself if I have to, but the sooner I know, the better.

Edited 2011-06-03 20:50 (UTC)

[She looks down, taps her closed journal thoughtfully.] I will.

[Nothing more to that then, until he hears more.]

Donatello, then.

I was teamed with him and Raphael on my first draft. He's a bo fighter, and a ninja. He moves pretty fast for a turtle, but he's not at your speed. He's smart, and he doesn't like fighting - he's more of an inventor than a fighter - but he keeps his head in a fight. And he doesn't have any problem with the killing that needs to be done. He's got some experience with medicine, too.

Aha, another ninja then? I should've expected. I had some dealings with one of the other turtle guys in that one experiment, but I wasn't sure if they were all like him or not. He's better tempered then?

Than Raphael? Much.

[Not that... it's hard to be better tempered than Raphael. And her expression briefly reflects this.]

Not only that, but he seemed to be a very nice guy. He was quiet, serious, and polite.

[Katara quite liked him, but she avoids the turtles as a whole due to her issues with Raphael and not wanting to create problems when there are enough already to go around.]

Sounds less troublesome in general. I'll see what I can do about working with him.

He might be particularly effective in the swamps. Not only does he have natural camouflage, but he's probably a really good swimmer, too.

[And that might come in useful in more than one way.]

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