markofthebrave | [ Action, Voice ] .056

[Okay, so waking up today was weird. She thought it was Saturday, but by the state of the house and where things were... it was actually Monday. Sokka was back - woke up in his own bed, and all, but when Katara went to check on Toph to see if she remembered what happened...

Her room was bare. There was nothing left. Toph was gone.

After stumbling to the wall and leaning on it a long moment to get herself together - is it going to hurt like this every time? - it was time to tell the household.

That accomplished, one of them had to let the town know... and Katara volunteered. She opened up her journal to find a mission summons from the Malnosso. She stared at it a long moment - now? When her housemates need her most they're calling for her now? She shut the journal. She needed a moment to process.

Eventually, she'll open up the journal again. Her voice is a little strained, but steady.]

I'm sorry I don't know any other way to say this but... Manliness Classes are going to have to be canceled again. Toph's gone home.

And... [hhhng, announcing this to the village is so weird, but...] Sokka's back. [There, that's better. Starting with him gives her someplace to stand on.] But I'll be leaving on a mission tomorrow, so... I'll see you all in a week or so.

[So after making this post mid-morning, Katara sets about doing what she needs to do. Sirry Crags, huh? She knows how to handle high altitudes and fighting in snow. She'll just... pop into the Item Shop to double check for a few things, and then hopefully bump into someone willing to help her carry groceries home. It looks like she's going to need to do a week's worth of cooking today.]

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[What is this strange urge to blurt out the truth when she hasn't even decided if she was going to tell anyone yet? Katara - quite literally - bites her tongue.]

I'm going by myself. But I should meet up with some people when I get there. And I'm going to be fine, so you don't need to worry.

[This is instant relief.] If you don't mind, that would be great. I should have gotten Sokka or Zuko to help me, but... Sokka just got back.

[And Zuko was off firebending when she left, so.]

[Of note: Katara would have missed school today.]

I'm just not going to be around for a little while. So I'm stocking up the house.

[Come to think of it, she hadn't been at school, had she?]

Not...going to be around. [That usually means one of two things around here.] So...mission or vacation, huh?

[Sokka walks into the kitchen wit ha very important question. One that did not require putting on a shirt yet.]

Why am I home?

Sure thing! I have a whole hour before I have to go back to the clinic. [Not to mention he could use the simple company, given some recent events.]

[He takes a couple steps back, and suddenly a reindeer about the size of a small horse takes his place. Chopper bends down and hooks a few grocery bags by their handles with his antlers.] I can hold a lot this way, so I'll carry as much as you need me to!

Wishing you the best luck on your journey, Miss.

[ He'd have added Katara, but ohhh, he has no idea how that's spelled. A brief hesitation, then: ] And offering my condolences, for what they may be worth.

H. Wellard

[ He has no idea if that's the appropriate term to use in these cases, but it feels better than leaving it with nothing. ]

[Yeah. Intercept. Katara's staring at her book, having just made her announcement. She chooses to intercept by shutting the book with all the subtlety of a tornado.]

Oh - Zuko! You're back.

[She's trying to send him through the roof, isn't she? He stops in his tracks and raises an eyebrow, his face a mask of calm and neutrality.]

Yeah. I'm back. Hi?

[See how normal he's being? Normal's awesome.]

Hey.

[She looks away. Let's just let you go about your business, then.]

[Yeah, okay. Things aren't strained at all. He sighs.] You want anything from the kitchen?

[Ion stares at this entry for a good while before he can find it in him to muster a reply. Toph was gone? Just like that? And after what happened the last time they actually spoke to each other--]

...thank you for letting us know.

[Blink!]

[And then she laughs, which is... really... not something she thought she'd be doing today.]

That would be great, Chopper! Thank you!

[...blink again. It's been a while, but...]

...is it just me, or are you bigger?

[Oh, a vacation up in the mountains in the middle of winter. It'll be great.]

A mission. [She shrugs.] At least they give you some warning.

No. I'm fine.

[Clearly. As she just sits here staring at the journal on her lap.

Go away, Zuko. 8|]

[Clearly, she's fine.]

You sure?

[Mission... huh.

He wonders if he should reply. In the end, he concludes no, he should not. He instead just goes about his day as normal before finally, well - he intends to intercept when he has run into her doing bending practice at night. The approximate place and time. If that misfires though he just will go to her house. Maybe her damn window again.

Honestly, when the last conversation (that he can remember) was something as dramatic as that, he figures he ought to well, try to be normal]

Pretty suspicious, huh.

[Though it's not like they can do anything about it.]

...This isn't the first time it's happened either, is it?

[Robin's been excessively busy all Monday obsessing over the lost weekend. But he's still aware enough to have checked the journals for clues. Man, Katara. She can't seem to catch a break, can she?

Robin will make a bit of an effort to be snooping around her general day's path, approaching her outside the item shop. It's a public place -- that means it's safe and this conversation will go well, right?]

Katara. Hey.

[Ah. A friend of hers, gone home? Mia can sympathize quite well by now.

It isn't something most people want to discuss openly, so she settles for something else.]

Please stay safe, Katara.

[Hey, that's how the vikings do it.]

...Yeah? That's--nice. [Sort of. He doesn't have a lot of desire to go on one himself.] What're they having you do?

No... remember last year? I think it was last December, when we were all at the beach.

[She's frowning at the calender with its turned pages now.]

Oh. [She frowns, not really wanting to cause worry - but she'd just promised to stop trying to protect the one whose response she was worried about the most.]

It's a combat mission. In the mountains.

[Vague enough, right?]

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