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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[And she turns around to face Robin and smile at him. It's a very relieved and happy smile.]

Thank you, Robin.

[Well of course it works. Robin's plans always work.]

No problem, Katara. Aren't you the one always going on about how important it is to get a good night's sleep? [Or maybe it's everyone else. Robin hears a lot of lecturing about his sleep habits.]

Maybe. It sounds like me.

[She shrugs a little and then glances at her bed, actually considering a nap. Write this day down.

...but you asked for it, Robin.]

How's that going for you these days?

[...He really should have seen that coming.]

I'm getting enough. Honestly, it's been easier for me since all these lights came up. [It's almost like there's Christmas Cheer or some silliness.]

[That makes... no sense to her whatsoever.]

Really? [Yup, still can't process it.] Why?

Edited 2011-12-20 03:58 (UTC)

No idea. [He shrugs, not really concerned with why he's not looking into it.]

It's just... Really nice around the village lately. It sort of reminds me of home.

You have a lot of lights like this back where you're from?

[That would at least make some sense. It's not that Katara forgot about Christmas, you see. It's just... not really something on her radar.]

This is nothing compared to what I'm used to. [There's some gesturing now, as his enthusiasm grows.]

I've always lived in big cities, where there's always someone awake, and the lights go on for miles. And when I was a kid, I'd try to sneak out at night so I could sleep under the brightest stuff, just for the adventure of it.

[She grins, leaning forward a little in response, as his enthusiasm is contagious.]

I can't imagine anything like that! The closest we got to living in a city was in Ba Sing Se, and it didn't have anything like this. Were they all electric, like in Luceti?

Edited 2011-12-20 04:33 (UTC)

[He nods] Just about everything back home is powered by some kind of electricity. [Except the more high-end work, but he's not sure how to explain Plutonium without putting her to sleep.] I think it's the closest people can get to keeping the sun up all night long.

And then, around this time of year some people compete for who can set up the most lights outside their homes. It's a way to show their celebration for the holiday.

...having the sun up night long isn't as exciting as they seem to think. [But then she shakes her head, dismissing that.] What do the lights have to do with celebrating?

The lights mean a lot of different things to a different people. There are some cultures that use the lights to symbolize candles their ancestors used during hard times. Some decorate a green tree and decorate it with lights to celebrate the new year to come. It's just... Festive, I guess.

[customs and festivals and symbolism, oh yay! These are things Katara likes and can relate to.]

That sounds nice - practical, too. It gets dark quickly this time of year. Still, it's a nice tradition. I'm glad you have it.

[Luceti never regurgitates any of their world's traditions. It must be strange for something to feel like home so far away from home.]

[Less strange than some of the places he's visited at home, honestly.]

What do your people do for holidays, Katara? [Maybe he can bring some of her culture here and share some of that irrepressible holiday cheer that won't go away.]

[And she continues to chill with Robin in her bedroom, actually drawing her knees up to her chest and looping her arms around them as she sits on her bed.]

We don't really have the same kinds of holidays I've heard about here, but in winter we do have some. Everyone takes the day off for the First Snow, mostly because we know that's the last day we'll have to get things done before it gets really dangerous to be outside, but when we were little kids it meant a break from chores. We'd go penguin sledding, or go down to the beach to try and catch sight of any lingering tigerseals...

[Her face grows wistful, posture more relaxed as she speaks.]

There's a celebration every solstice. For the Winter Solstice we light a bonfire and if there's enough food we'll have a feast. There's arctic berry cider and plenty of meat. We'll tell stories and sing into night... and then as each family goes back to their home, they take some of the communal fire with them. We normally just keep the fire in the cooking pit, since it's not really safe in tents, but after the solstice it's still about a week before we get any daylight, so it's a tradition [from back when they had houses] to take one light and keep it burning until the sun rises in the morning again.

[Robin listens attentively to Katara's story, thoroughly regaled by her account of primitive peoples and their love of festivals. If he were more of an anthropologist, it would have been enough to write articles over. But as it stands, he enjoys the story at face value, nodding at appropriate points to denote his attentiveness.]

Well there's snow on the ground right now. Why don't we just pretend it's the first one of the season?

[It is probably in Robin's best interest that he leave off that 'primitive' title when addressing her people out loud.

Katara smiles, and doesn't laugh, but it's clear from her expression that she thinks he just said something silly.]

But we already had the First Snow - weeks ago. We can't just go back.

[That's just not how it works.]

Well what kept you from celebrating the First Snow when it happened? I think I'd remember a bonfire.

[Sokka wasn't here.

Yue went back home.

Those thoughts flicker across her face before Katara smiles and shrugs.]

We just don't need a bonfire here. With the electricity, we don't have to worry about running out of light, and it's not as if the sun's gone out. Sure, the days get darker faster, but there's still plenty of daylight.

[She adds with more honesty:] And I guess I just didn't think about it.

Edited 2011-12-27 01:39 (UTC)

[He smiles in a gentle kind of way. Katara's already answered whatever questions he would have had to follow up.]

We'll just have to find other reasons to celebrate. You could probably use a good party.

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[ Action, Voice ] .055

[Action] LIES, 3/3

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