[ Action ] .070

[markofthebrave]

[Katara is not doing well.

I know - I know I go back. I know I have something I need to finish. But how long is it going to be, Sokka? Other people, it seems like they go and come back all the time. And I can't help but wonder when it's going to be you and - and if it will ever be me."

"Sometimes I think it will never be me. But I can't do this without you."

But it had been him. It had been him, just like she'd been afraid it would be. And now the one person she had always known had her back was gone. She knew it wasn't fair, but she felt alone.

And angry. And helpless. And hurt. And angry.

"Sometimes I think it will never be me. But I can't do this without you."

She should have told him. She wasn't sure she could do this without him either.

Katara let Aang make the announcement. She didn't want to have to deal with his friends grief on top of her own. Maybe it was selfish, but maybe there was a time for that. There wasn't enough to do. She didn't really want to see anybody, but this wasn't like when she'd lost her mom. There were no emergencies. There was nothing to distract her.

But she couldn't stand being in the house Sokka had expanded, not after cleaning it from the second floor on down. If you're in the house, it's probably best not to get in her way.

Once that's done, there's still not enough to do. She goes out to practice bending by the river and takes her bo with her, just in case she wants to practice that too. But she mostly ends up sitting on a rock by the river, her feet dangling down and almost touching the water.]

Comments

[wise_maiden]

[Earlier, Raine left a plant at the house with Aang. She knows Katara will be harder to speak to - harder to comfort - and perhaps, in a state where she might not want it just yet.

But Raine knows the pain of having a sibling there with you - and then having them no longer with you. Even with knowing they're safe at home, it doesn't do anything to bridge the gap. In Luceti, time changes you, affects you, but with a sibling it was someone who had also known you, before, and were he ever to appear again, he would be so much younger, and one would be more reluctant to explain the experiences that had gone on in that gap of time, if he did not remember.

There's a note tucked into the plant, to this effect;

I don't want to crowd you, but if there's anything you need, if you just want to talk, or drink and sit quietly, or anything else - you know how to find me. I know this is difficult to endure, even if there is hope in it. Please be well. - Raine

And that's all. She doesn't know when - or if, even, it will be addressed, but she'll wait for Katara to come to her on her own terms.]

[markofthebrave]

[This... this was a good note. Katara stares at it for a while and initially doesn't feel anything, which is possibly a step up from blinding rage. She remembers when Raine's younger brother left. It had been shortly after Katara had arrived, one of the first home-goings that she remembered being sad about, because brothers and sisters shouldn't be separated like that. She remembered how she'd tried to comfort Raine... she felt the aching difference in her age and perspective. What could possibly be said or done? Nothing.

But... Raine had endured. She'd endured and she'd helped people. And...

Thank you, Raine.

Maybe she would be able to take Raine up on that offer someday. But right now, she was still just so... angry. She didn't feel able to push herself through this.]