[ Action, Voice ] .056

[markofthebrave]

[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.]

Comments

[markofthebrave]

[That actually... wins possibly his first completely real smile of the night. It's small, but it's genuine.]

You were thinking "bah?"

[And the tone of her voice suggests laughter.]

1/2

[generalflirt]

[ ... His heart skips a beat ]

[generalflirt]

You caught me! It's a very "bah" worthy situation, wouldn't you say?

[markofthebrave]

[And then she does laugh a little, very softly.]

Yeah. I guess it is.

[And she smiles at him wryly, inviting him to share her amusement.]

[generalflirt]

In fact! I think you need to say "bah" with me.

[He even points at her, laughing a bit himself]

[markofthebrave]

[Laughing a bit more at his ridiculousness, she leans away from his point.]

Oh, you do, huh?

[generalflirt]

Definitely. I'll be therapeutic- [Hand motions, wiggling fingerss as he withdraws the point] I'm a love guru, I know these things.

[markofthebrave]

[Snerk - a 'love guru.'

Please, the only guru she knew tried to get people to give up love.]

Bah.

[generalflirt]

Bah.

[With special phonetics okay he's rolling with it]

[markofthebrave]

[You know, she's just tired enough that--]

Bah.

[...yup.

Although her grin is turning a little sheepish.]

[generalflirt]

[...Girl he's just falling you for more every day. He's laughing outright at that last one]

[markofthebrave]

[She starts laughing again too, a little embarrassed, and a little more open and vulnerable than she's let herself be around him in a while, and she props up her arm to rest her head in her hand, twisting her head to smile at with an 'I can't believe I just did this' look.]

I must be more tired than I thought.

[generalflirt]

Promise not to tell anyone.

[With a little cocksure smirk even as his own laughing gives way. Sip. Oh, he's done. Oh well]

[markofthebrave]

[Tired as anything, still resting her head on one hand, she holds up her other hand, pinky out.]

It's a deal.

[...he was the one who introduced her to this, after all. Right before he'd gone on a draft, and she'd made him promise to stick with people and not go off and fight on his own. The return of this - entirely foreign to her - gesture is one that's brought on by their closeness right now, the tearing down of her barriers due to weariness, and probably some sort of subconscious association of the gesture with him.

She doesn't think about it, doesn't feel awkward about it until her hand is extended towards him like that.]

[generalflirt]

[Briefly... that smile, that hand. There's a - it's not a pause, it's more of a widening of his eyes in recognition as his heart beasts faster. He immediately associates this stupid pinky promise - this childish gesture - with the other time(s) he'd made this sort of limited oath with Katara. And... it makes him feel very special. Very lucky. Very... accepted. His hand reaches out without delay, and his curls his pink around hers. There, it's a promise]

[markofthebrave]

[...heh.

Now she feels a little embarrassed. But she curls her pinky around his in response and sort of shakes their joined hands before she lets go, drops her hand to the table, and moves to straighten up.

...she can't really think of anything to say that won't lead to something else, something bigger than she wanted to deal with but - oh, there was that.]

I'm glad you stopped by before I left.

1/2

[generalflirt]

Ah... I couldn't not come, could I? I mean, under better circumstances I-

[...Fuuuh he hangs his head now. No. NO. He looks down at his pinky, blushes, and shakes his head]

[generalflirt]

Anyway. ...You're my comrade.

[markofthebrave]

[Blink. Okay, that's news to her. Because she's pretty sure she remembers somewhat painfully turning you down on that particular offer.]

I am?

[generalflirt]

[He folds his hands together here, focusing on her with a serious gaze]

You wouldn't take my pledge. Neither would Shikamaru precisely, honestly but that's sensible. He has his obligations and you have your reservations. However... I never recalled my offer to you. It's not quite how I would usually operate, but I did say everything... [He pauses here. He shifts. Maybe that was a bad way to put it]

The point is, I will trust you.

1/?

[markofthebrave]

[Oh that's - everything - oh.

...she's really not sure anyone's ever had the audacity to ask for everything from her before. Not even Aang. And that's twice now that he's done it. Huh.

And: "Not quite how I would usually operate" which just reminds her that there's this whole other side to him, that this means something to him, that he once had responsibilities and people he cared for all his own.]

Oh.

2/3

[markofthebrave]

[And why does she get the feeling that his trust isn't like hers, not the way he's saying it right now, that his trust is without reservation - like what it was he had asked her for and she'd refused to give.]

Masaomi, I--

[She bites her lip.

How can she say: I don't want this. It's too much to carry. How can she tell him that to take it back when it's obvious... he's finding himself in these actions. He's coming into who it is that he is, more than just a mask or that strange blank face, it's a meld of the two and... she doesn't want to take that chance from him, doesn't want to be just one more person saying 'no' in a way that would make it seem 'you're not good enough, you didn't do enough.']

[markofthebrave]

[...and she looks down.]

...the Sirry Crags. That's where I'm going.

[generalflirt]

[His expression... doesn't change much. It's subtle, what happens now, but hopefully she is experienced enough that she can pick it up if she happens to look up. To begin with, he needs to think. Sirry Crags? He runs over the mission list in his head for a moment. No, most of those were desk jobs, and then there was on on the farmlands and-

Mountain Combat. Oh. That's the only one that fits. And then after that moment of recognition his face also comes up with fear. Terror is actually gripping his heart, that she's going somewhere way, way out of his reach - somewhere dangerous, somewhere she could be hurt. Die. But then that fear shifts into surprise. It's odd that fear is before surprise, but it's a belated recognition that she wouldn't pick that. Katara is strong. Katara is impossibly strong, much more than he could ever be. But she's not like him either - she might be able to kill him, but she wouldn't want to - she doesn't fall into a parade of Violence the way he does, so why-...

But no. The whys are for her to worry about. She didn't accept the pledge, so he has no right to demand that information. Or does he? No, the confusion rights itself into a sort of fearful resignation. He focuses his eyes right on her. There's a lot of things he could ask, a lot of things he could tell her and demand. But in the end, he just ends up asking a simple question]

Will you die?

[markofthebrave]

[She looks up at him at that, and there's a light in her eyes - something fierce and dangerous and implacably determined.]

No. I won't die. I'll be back and I'll be fine.