markofthebrave | [ Action, Voice ] .055

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[ Action, Voice ] .055

[These decorations have been up for a few days now, and while at first Katara thought they were pretty they have now succeeded in making her grumpy. Yes. Very grumpy. Grumpy enough to make a post about it, in fact.]

How do they expect us to sleep with all these lights in our window? I've put a double curtain over it, and the light is still keeping me awake. Does anyone have any ideas?

[You might catch some muttering about: "Moving to sleep down in the basement" or "It's not too cold to camp out in the forest" before the journal shuts. She'll get back to it in a little bit, she just needs to finish making the grocery list.

Once she finishes with any replies that she may receive, Katara heads into town. The lights really are pretty. And so are the wreaths and the snowmen and the... unfamiliar sprigs of green over the doorway to the grocery store really kind of... isn't. Why is that even there? Katara pauses underneath it to examine it more closely...]

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[Katara is now leaving the store after... a certain encounter. She's distracted and... distracted. Confused. Trying not to think. But she does do her best to step wide outside the door.

Lost completely in her own thought, she doesn't notice him.]

[Then it's a good thing someone has ninja attention skills, otherwise they'd probably be taking a spill into the snow.]

Whoa-- [He catches her shoulder with his good hand, avoiding a collision for them both.] Watch yourself.

Oh.

[Oh crap, they're under the mistletoe. She suddenly shoves him forward a few steps.] Gah!

[Aaand back he goes, turning on reflex to keep his balance.]

Sheesh, woman. What's your problem?

Edited 2011-12-15 04:12 (UTC)

[She quickly steps wide and in the opposite direction, shuffling her packages.]

That plant - it makes you want to kiss the person under it.

[She glares at it.] I figured you'd rather be shoved.

...oh.

[It's all good then. He looks up at the sprig with a raised eyebrow before ignoring it again.]

Some warning would've been nice.

Sorry.

[She runs her free hand through her hair in an uncharacteristic gesture.]

I just didn't want it to get to us first.

[He thinks he would've been able to fight the good fight for the four seconds it would've taken her to say that. 8|

On the other hand, it sounds like she found about what it does the hard way, so who's he to complain.]

Already faced off with it today, huh?

[She blushes and looks down, managing to look somehow... smaller.

What is she going to do?]

Yeah.

[Aa. Of course it couldn't be as simple as that.]

Hey, cheer up. At least you thwarted it this time. [He offers a grin.] I'd probably be the worst of the bunch too.

[She looks up at him and gives him a lame attempt at a smile. Yeah, that was a transparent effort, Shikamaru.]

Probably.

[She glances up at the plant.] I tried cutting it down, but it just grew back.

[He shrugs.] Best to just leave it be, then.

[To him it doesn't seem like a big deal. More people are coming through now, and they just seem to walk under it and go on their way, no problem.]

Aa, we're blocking the way, though. [Best to follow that example. He moves to the left so there's more room for everyone else to walk.]

[She gives him a look.] That's exactly what I did.

[And then she shifts her bags.] I won't keep you.

[Time to get away from him if she can.]

[He meant more than just physically leaving it there, you know. But it looks like she's already trying to ditch him, so.]

S'not like I have anywhere to be.

[A curious look.]

I didn't know you liked walking in the snow so much.

[A snort.] I don't. It's a pain in the ass when you're wearing sandals.

You should get boots.

I just did.

[He points one foot up - no open toes. Hence why he has nowhere to be.]

[She glances down at them.]

They look all right. Rub them over with wax or fat to waterproof them.

[She shifts her packages again. He might not have someplace to be, but she... She has a lot on her mind.]

Wax, huh? [...he'll skip the fat.] I'll see what I can do, thanks.

[He's not blind enough to miss that hint. Normally he'd just bug her anyways and offer to help carry the groceries back. That's not going to be a successful plan with just one hand, though. So...]

You gonna be okay?

[She smiles at him too brightly, her eyes stinging. Of course, it could just be from the wind.]

I have no idea.

[And then she closes her eyes and shakes her head.] I'll be fine. It'll work out. I just need some time to think.

All right. [It makes him wonder what happened - who it was. Something as harmless as mistletoe doesn't seem worth getting upset over otherwise, to him. Then again, he's not a girl.]

Good luck. Try not to let it get you down.

[Good guess, Shikamaru. This wasn't exactly harmless. And hey, it's not just about being a girl, OK? 8|

She smiles in an... no, no she doesn't smile. She feels like she's going to cry and seeing Shikamaru reminds her of Chouji and that makes it worse.] Right. Sorry I even said that. Don't worry about me, it'll be fine.

You should stock up on some foods that will store well while you're here. The snow isn't going to get any lighter.

Edited 2011-12-17 04:53 (UTC)

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[ Action, Voice ] .055

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