markofthebrave | [ Action, Voice ] .058

[ Action, Voice ] .058

[Somewhere in all the excitement of the past month, it... sort of didn't occur to her that she's now been in Luceti for two years. That's had some time to sink in now, along with the new announcement and - home. Actually getting to go home. Even if it's just for a day...

...but then it means that the Malnosso were lying to them, doesn't it. They do have the power to send them home. And all this time, they'd said it was random...]

[Filter to those who had been here when she arrived: Two years back or more.]

Hey. I think that I just... wanted to apologize. I know that when I got here two years ago, I wasn't very respectful about all the things everyone had tried to do in order to get out of here. It must have been so hard to hear that then, and to keep hearing it from every New Feather that we get when we know that we've tried everything we could.

But we have to keep trying. What they're doing, no matter what they say, no matter what they promise us, is wrong. We can't give up hope that we'll find a way out - we have to keep looking. There's a difference between waiting and giving up, and I know it's hard, but so many of you are still doing that, still trying to find a way out while making things as comfortable as you can for all the new people who are stuck here as we are, and I admire that so much.

So, thank you.

[/filter]

[And then, taking a deep breath, she'll continue:]

And hey, if anyone was using the sled tracks I made, I haven't had a chance to check on them since the ice storm. I'll probably be decommissioning them tomorrow and just turning it all into a giant snow hill, so if you go out there, please be careful, all right?

[Thursday is one of the days Katara goes to spar with Nami, so after making this announcement after school, she and Nami will meet up by the river to do battle with their staffs. Feel free to stop by and watch these two sexy ladies practicing, if you like.

If not, after dinner, Katara heads off someplace she very rarely is. The remembrance garden. This place has always made her uncomfortable... she's not sure it's right, but it's... something. Better than those things that reminded her of gravestones. And the perfect place to pour over her journal, flipping back until she finds an entry of Aang. It's been so long since she's seen him... she's all but forgotten what he sounds like. She feels almost bad about it, but... she misses him so much and yet... it's easier not to miss him.

And eventually, when her time in the remembrance garden is done, Katara will return to her house for an hour or two of bending practice in the back yard.]

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[She waved a hand.

Whatever that means.]

Heavy. [She starts moving to get up.]

None of it's fat.

[Because this matters. Okay rolling over to check on Linda now]

There's nothing wrong with a little fat.

[That said off-hand, kind of grumbly, in part due to her culture and sheer practicality...

...and on a deeper level, Chouji had been so sensitive about his weight that she instinctively defends it as she moves to stand.]

[Oh. Right. ...Well then he'll justy go to see Linda. Pat her on the head. You did well. But when he does this-]

You didn't bend me off.

Of course not. You'd pinned my arms and my legs.

[She doesn't even think about saying this. Maybe she could have used Sona, but she doubts that the spirit would have the force to manage, entirely on its own power, the type of force needed to dislodge Masaomi's grip. It's something to keep in mind, though, if there is a next time.]

[Wait. he looks over to her, surprised, turning his attention away from Linda. Ignoring that there's one more round he looks like he just realized something. If you restrict her movements- she?]

[...wow, he really didn't get this?]

Bending isn't magic, Masaomi. It's not just - an act of will. Why did you think I practiced so much if my movements didn't have anything to do with it?

[She whips out a small amount of water from her waterskin with her hand, sends it chasing up and down her arm by extending her hand straight out.] The right movements, done in the right way, have everything to do with how effective you are as a bender. That's not all of it. There's how much of your element you can control, how well you can use what you have, and everything else that goes into being a good fighter. But the more smooth and precise my movements are, the more in line with myself and my chi I am, the stronger my bending is. If I can't move, I can't bend.

[She streams the water back into the waterskin.

This isn't something that she was just able to do. She had to work at it, and she still works at it. She's not sure if she should be flattered or insulted that she apparently made it look effortless.]

Edited 2012-03-20 20:11 (UTC)

Not at all... really. [He inclines his head, thinking a moment. It's not that he didn't know that she practices. It's not that he didn't know - hasn't admired - how she moved. But in light of that, he glances at Linda.

Electricity...

A thought comes to him, but it would be far too dangerous for him to try that now. But it's something to consider later. Linda just looks at him curiously and he shakes his head]

You must be a master, Katara.

That's right. [Her voice and countenance is, for once, completely free of anything resembling self-depreciation. She doesn't sound proud, although she is, but this isn't the same matter of pride that it was two years ago. She's done things with her bending she only hopes Master Pakku would forgive her for. But her tone is perfectly matter-of-fact. This is her status. It's who she is.]

I'm a master.

[It sounds a little weird coming out of her mouth - she never introduces herself by her rank. It kind of - heh - it sort of tingles.]

[Somehow, he feels smaller than usual. but at the same time... he just took out a master. Yes, she just put a huge gap between them but if he can manage it now, even if it was desperate...]

[And so he does something he doesn't do a whole lot - or well, he does, but there's somewhat more sincerity here. He's going to pull into a polite little bow]

I never knew.

Edited 2012-03-21 03:40 (UTC)

[Master or not, no one is infallible. The same trick probably wouldn't work twice. She's not surprised he was able to do something like that - there is a reason why a fight is a fight. This was a spar, its purpose was to test their strengths and weaknesses - what good would it do either of them if she brought all her full strength to bare against him? All the same, he'd won that round, fair and square.

...why is he bowing?]

You don't have to bow.

[She didn't think he was mocking her, but... this was still weird. Let's shift the topic.]

I was trained in the North Pole by Master Pakku. He declared me a master before we left and gave me some scrolls to study so that I could continue to teach Aang.

[I've gotten better since then.

...or not. We can stay on this topic. Since it's apparently important to her and all.]

Aaaah, and that was what, two years ago? [He gets up from the bow. This part is more jovial, but it's not teasing. Really, it's just highlighting that distance between them as he stretches out one of his arms] I must be speaking to the GrandMaster Katara by now.

[She shakes her head.] I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be so easy to achieve that status. And I haven't fought against another waterbender in... a long time.

[She knows she's good.

She knows she's damn good.

But she doesn't know if she could take on Master Pakku and win. She might be able to. But she wouldn't ever presume to take that status.]

Ah, that's a shame.

[He doesn't pick up the baton again, but no looks at Linda before taking up a stance again. He wants to do something like promise to find one for her, but he wouldn't be able to make good to her. So, instead. Round three?]

Edited 2012-03-22 04:32 (UTC)

[She shifts her position slightly and nods.]

Go.

[Alright, so if the tackle worked...

It's not going to work twice, at least not in the same way. He tries to give a hand motion to Linda, trying to get her to run up and bite Katara. Linda just looks confused though, and he's going to waste precious seconds doing that before grunting and they both start to run towards the girl]

[Taking advantage of their miscommunication seems like a poor way to win. So she waits until they've both started to move before streaming out two controlled bursts of water, headed for their chests, with the force of a fire hydrant behind them.]

[Masaomi sees those, and makes an attempt to dodge. Linda does too. Really, both of them manage it, but the roll Masaomi got into results in him being in a somewhat vulnerable position for the follow up, even if he stands after it quick enough. Linda ends up in a snowbank. She's trying to get out, but]

[And Katara does follow up with a waterwhip, that should it connect will wind around his torso, trapping his hands at his sides.]

Edited 2012-03-29 14:25 (UTC)

Shit-

[Well maybe if he tries to. Wiggle out of this. He knows he's caught though]

[He's secure enough now, but she's ready in case she needs to immobilize his feet as well. Katara starts counting...]

1...2...

[Okay he's held, so he can... kick. Or maybe he- he can't kick out the water.

Oh. Let's try to get footing and run towards her despite being held on the arms]

[Sorry, Masaomi, that's not how it works. The force of her bending holds the line between them taut. You'll have to power through the force of a fire hydrant blast holding you into place if you want to get through.]

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