markofthebrave | (no subject)

[Action: Locked to Nephry]
[It makes no sense for a known and proud waterbender to step out of the fountain in the middle of winter and remain soaking wet. But yet, that is exactly what she is doing: getting out of the fountain, her arms wrapped around herself, shivering, and looking both confused and frightened... and younger. About three years younger, to be exact.]

[Open action.]

Katara, properly attired to face the winter thanks to your friendly neighborhood Clothing Shop, can be seen:

a) Stopping and staring at the snow, as if she hasn't seen any in a very, very long time
b) Entering the Welcome Center to get the maps/layout of the place
c) Stalking House 56. She will not enter. She will likely not be seen, as she is administering a frightening amount of skill at sticking to the shadows, but you might catch her as she starts to walk away...
d) Checking out a Community Building for a spare room.

((Katara, returned from her mallynap, is experiencing this AU. Feel free to bump into her anywhere, but don't be too surprised if she doesn't respond to her name. It's been a long time since she's called herself anything Water Tribe.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Crap. He'd done it again. Every time he started to make progress, he stuck his foot in his mouth. He didn't chase her, but he did make a half step forward.

"Wait! I'm serious. You don't have to worry about that here. There's no Fire Nation here. No war. In fact, there's only five benders here. Five."

She paused only because he was offering her important information. No Fire Nation? Did that mean no firebenders either?

"And they are?"

"Aang and Ikki, they're airbenders. Bolin and Toph, both earthbenders." For a moment, he hesitated. But he couldn't afford to lie to her. "... and Roku. He's a firebender. But he's from before the war! And he's a nice guy. He's a friend."

So much of what he just said made no sense at all. "Airbenders? There haven't been airbenders for a hundred years. Around the same time the Fire Nation stopped using the name 'Roku.'"

"I know, I know. That was my reaction at first. But they're real. Just like the air bison."

"Either that or I'm dreaming."

Which was starting to sound more and more likely.

"How often do you have dreams where you realize you're dreaming? Come on."

"About as often as someone decides to tell me airbenders exist." She didn't say 'Come on,' but it was strongly implied.

He shrunk a little. "Okay, point. ... look, if I can't convince you to come see the air bison now, promise me that if you don't manage to just escape by tomorrow, that you'll come see him later? I want to prove to you I'm telling the truth."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Come to see him where?"

"House Fifty-Six. It's in the southern part of town. You can't miss it. There's a uh, slab of stone with my face on it."

"...well, that's subtle."

It was like he wanted to be hunted down and killed.

"Trust me. I'm not a fan of it. Seriously, the inside of it is just..." Hideous. He shook his head. "Not important. Will you come?"

She looked at him for a long moment, into those blue eyes that were so much like her own. And Katara wanted to believe him. And that was dangerous.

"I won't make any promises."

"Then at least think about it." There was a moment's pause before he suddenly had a thought. He reached into his bag and pulled out his journal. "And take this. There's a guide in here that talks about the village. I folded the page so it's easy to find."

Katara frowned, staring at the journal suspiciously, "What is it?"

"It's what we use in the village to send messages to each other. It's like nothing from home, I know. But it works."

Katara took it slowly, staring at the unfamiliar object. "It looks like a brick."

"More book than brick. Just take a look at it, alright?"

If it meant going without a journal for a few days, so be it.

"...maybe I will," she frowned down at it.

He nodded. "Just don't do anything reckless, okay?"

Much as he hated to leave her alone, he knew there was no chance of taking her home. "But if you decide you don't want to be alone tonight, there's a place for you here."

"I heard. Free food, free clothes, free lodging..."

Her brother was offering her a place to stay. Her brother wanted her to come home. It was too good to be true.

"And hot showers." He knew his sister liked those. "At least think about it, okay?"

Katara shook her head, "I already did."

And turned to go.

Which meant all he could do was watch her go.

It wasn't enough.