[ Action, Some Journal ] BACKDATED to the 11th .059

[markofthebrave]

[On April 9th, Katara had been told that she was an "error," and doomed to die by a boy with the face of the man she loved. As you can imagine, the rest of the day was not spent cheerfully; rather after wandering about for some time, Katara returned home to make dinner and then quietly excused herself to write some letters, and then bend into the early morning hours.

On April 10th, the sun rose on a Katara who was entirely herself, and the sudden onslaught of memories drove her to her knees. In the early hours of the morning, she wept beside the river, feeling inside out and torn apart and lost... eventually she returned to her room in order to sleep the sleep of the deeply exhausted.

She did not wake until April 11th. This was another slow day, where she read the letters her other self had written and decided not to give them out, ended up seeking some unlikely advice, and generally stuck to her schedule, feeling... strange.

But today? Today she woke up feeling a little more like herself. It was a Thursday, which meant meeting Nami for bo practice after school (which she... finally got back to attending, sorry Professor) and then made dinner. She may glance through the journal a bit more than normal; she may even contemplate attempting to contact someone, and... eventually, she does make two locked posts:]

[Written | Private to Robin]
Hey. I know you'll probably say you're fine, but I just wanted to ask how you were doing.

[Voice | Private to Wolfwood]
Do you have a minute?

[Later that evening, she'll be practicing by the river, under the light of a waning moon.]

Comments

[ 11th; action ]

[markofthebrave]

[Inside, check.

And Katara opens the door.]

Hey, Buffy.

[She's a little surprised to see you, their bridge conversation ages away from her mind.]

[herotypical]

...Mind if I step in? I have some apologies to make. It's just desperate and sad if I make them on the doorstep.

[markofthebrave]

"Um, sure - you can come in." Katara stepped back to allow Buffy entrance. "But I don't know what you have to apologize for..."

Did she need to go get Sokka or something?

[herotypical]

She took a wide step in.

"I was thinking possibly the part where I was totally rude and mugged you."

[markofthebrave]

Oh that. Oh, she had something she wanted to say to that - what was it? Oh yeah, "You didn't 'mug' me. I just loaned a friend some earrings that she needed for a little while."

'Needed,' because of the concessions she was able to get out of 'Annie.' Smiling a little, Katara held out her hand. "I'll take them back now."

Her ears are conspicuously bare, considering she'd found sparkling blue replacements shortly after leaving Annie.

[herotypical]

"Believe me. Last-week-me? Had no intention of honouring that loan. Luckily, I'm my very own me again. To everyone's relief."

Buffy pulled a little velvet pouch from her pocket and shook the earrings out onto Katara's palm.

[markofthebrave]

"That's all right. I wasn't counting on last-week you to.. last more than a week," she smiled a little wryly and rolled over the earrings with her thumb. Reaching up, she started to put them in. So really, she'd double-crossed your double cross.

[herotypical]

"...Which means I also gotta thank you. For, uhm, my own sake. And Jack's."

[markofthebrave]

Putting in the second earring, Katara shook her head. "You don't need to thank me for that. I'm just glad that I was able to help. If it helped, I mean."

[herotypical]

"Oh, it helped. Jack's a clever kinda guy for having her, uhm, or me I guess...having me swear on the Code. Then. When I would have cared about it."

[markofthebrave]

Yeah, Katara figured Jack would have a vested interest in keeping his own wings from getting wrenched. "Good. So you're... both okay, then?"

[herotypical]

"We...had a lot to talk about. But that still wasn't the worst thing this place as put our relationship through. No small thanks to you."

[markofthebrave]

Katara shook her head. "I know one of the worst things this place can do is make you hurt someone else. I'm glad that you're okay."

[herotypical]

"It's been a whirlwind. And -- well, things were said. Some of it very publicly. And there might have been some pistol pointing. And some light shaming. I dunno...he still loved me. Through all that.

Kinda scary, really."

[markofthebrave]

A shadow immediately crossed her face and Katara ducked her head. "...yeah. I can see how that would be."

Oh, let's not talk about the "L" word.

[herotypical]

"I never wanted to put him through..." what others have gone through before. "Were you affected, Katara? I, uhm, couldn't tell. At the time."

[markofthebrave]

"Oh - yeah. I was."

See how much she wanted to talk about this?

[herotypical]

"...Where'd you go?"

[markofthebrave]

"Tokyo," said on a sigh. And then Katara shrugged. "It was pretty intense. Big."

[herotypical]

"...So I hear. I have some girls in my squad who are originally from Tokyo. The local Scottish cities don't hold a candle, I guess."

[markofthebrave]

If discomfort was able to be measured in heat, you could roast a marshmallow off of the discomfort vibes she was giving off here.

"There were certainly a lot more people than I've ever seen in one place before.]

[herotypical]

Gently: "Culture shock?"

[markofthebrave]

"It could have been worse."

A shade of pain passed over her face.

"I was there with a friend."

[herotypical]

"...Better than an enemy. Was it planned or by surprise?"

Because she and Jack, at least, had planned from the get-go to Shift together.

[markofthebrave]

"After Aang showed up, I decided I didn't want to go anywhere. It wouldn't have been right to risk leaving him here."

Despite how much she really, really wanted to go home...

"I wasn't planning on going anywhere."