markofthebrave | [Action] .009

[Action] .009

[Due to Sokka's unexpected bout of sheer win, Katara has been given the gift of free time and she plans on making the most of it... after she was shooed back to bed due to threats from Sokka that made no sense at all.

First, she wants to check in on Sanji at the Strawhat's House. Then she wants to stop by the school and see if she can register to go once things are back to 'normal.' And... she has an idea that is going to lead her to the weapons shop. Finally, she'll go grocery shopping because they're running low on easy-to-cook things. Maybe she'll even get a chance to stand by the bridge and practice with real waterbending! ...although saving her strength to keep healing Zuko is probably a better idea. She'll probably just stare at the water wistfully and talk to Sona.

If you're around any of these places today, feel free to say 'Hey!' or give her hand, since she's not exactly sure how to do what she wants to do at the smithy or the school.]

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[She laughs a little at his enthusiasm.] Really, Sanji - just something quick and easy will be fine. I'm sure whatever you make will be great.

[She's a ladyyyyyyy. So of course he must be enthusiastic]

Okay, we'll go with a salad. [first things first. He grabs a chair and pulls it to the counter - damn it, he can't wait until he's tall - then returns back to the fridge to grab the necessary ingredients: lettuce, tomatoes, some ham, radishes, some ranch dressing... it won't be as extravagant as what his adult self would make, seeing as he's only ten.

He still plans to make it look very pretty]

Edited 2010-03-17 03:30 (UTC)

[Katara watches him begin to prepare the food and hopes that she is able to force it down. His movements are different as a child -- there's far more concentration evident -- but there's still that sense of flow to it that reminds her of an art. The question she asks is one she's asked before, and it doesn't occur to her until after she asks it that the answer might be different, and maybe she shouldn't pry.]

Did you always want to be a chef?

[It's because he's a child that the question doesn't come as nearly a surprise as it did to his adult self. He often elicits such a reaction when anyone sees him cooking.]

Uh-huh. I think my mom was one. [The words are a blunt statement, with no room for sadness or remorse. Just fact] I always wanted to be in the kitchen before she died.

Oh. [And that makes so much sense. Katara's hand goes to her necklace, but she's not going to burden Sanji with her own story... it doesn't seem like she needs to. He's dealing with it his own way, even as a child, and she can't help but feel a little proud of him.]

I don't blame you. A kitchen is always such a warm place to be.

[And it's time for a change of topic.] Where I grew up, there was always snow on the ground. So we used to love coming into the kitchen. [...or the cooking tent. After the Fire Nation destroyed their homes.]

Really? All the time? [That's a bit hard for him to imagine. He slows in cutting up the lettuce]

[Katara nods.] Because we live on the bottom edge of the world. I'm from the South Pole. So I grew up surrounded by snow and ice... and seasons with long nights and long days. We'll have weeks where the sun is out -- all the time! And weeks where it's nothing but the moon.

In the springtime, there's still snow in most places, but little blue flowers will peep up like tiny blue bells in hidden spots. When I was little, I used to go with my brother to look for them... [...and we would bring them back to our mom.]

[the statement about the moon gets an odd, unreadable stare, but it's gone soon enough, replaced by an impressed nod... well, except for one part] That doesn't mean you have to go to bed all the time, right?

Oooh. That's cool! There's not really spring on the sea... but certain kinds of fish will return to certain areas, so the cooks get really excited. [goes back to chopping up the rest of the vegetables]

But I've never seen what spring is like on land yet.

Have you spent most of your life on the sea?

[She wondered what that would be like = to be surrounded by so much water, all the time.] We lived - live - by the sea. But I don't think that's the same thing.

Uh-huh. I can't remember not being on it. [so yeah, at least half if not more]

It's always moving... so when I walk on land, it feels weird.

Ah. [And she wonders if it feels that way for the Sanji she knows too.]

You know what's great about the sea? About water? [She should really be saving her strength, but... she unclasps her flash and draws a small amount in her hand anyway. As she speaks she'll be changing its space... from liquid, to ice, to steam, and back to water again.] It's so changeable. It can adapt to many different circumstances - cold, heat, even being inside a plant - and it's still the same. It's still water. My Gran-Gran used to say that the Watertribes were like that too.

[She gives him an encouraging smile before letting the water stream back into the waterskin.] And since you grew up on the sea, I guess that makes you like us. Even if things change - who you are stays the same. Maybe it will feel less weird in a few days.

[that is so neat. His attention is riveted to the water until she puts it back in her waterskin]

One of the cooks said something like that. Zeff, too. [it hurts to talk about him when he's not around, but fair is fair. And he doesn't mind sharing this with Katara] If you put a chef on land, on the sea, or even in the air, he's still a chef.

[her salad is about finished. Only thing left to do is sprinkle a little salt and pepper on it for flavor] That's why I really like water! I miss being on the sea... [he misses the way it would lull him to sleep]

It's too quiet here.

I know what you mean. I've never been this far away from the sea before.

[...and this is a maudlin topic! Moving right along, if at all possible.] But it sounds like Zeff knew what he was talking about - you're sure still cooking here.

[Gah! That's a no-go too!] Umm... what kind of salad did you make?

[Katara, you can't escape iiiit. A good thing Sanji is completely oblivious]

Fettuccine and ham! With some added vegetables. [brings his creation over to her] It's not a lot so you can finish it. [see? Even had her in mind.

Once she's been served, he'll go to clean up] And Zeff says smart things sometimes. When he's not being a bastard. [an almost shy pause] He would like you, Katara! You say pretty neat stuff, too.

This looks great, Sanji. Thank you. [Aaaand she blushes at the compliment. She's not used to anyone saying anything like that to her, even if it is a little kid. Have a grin, Sanji.] Well, it takes a pretty neat person to know when someone's saying neat stuff! So I guess we're in good company.

[And with that, she takes on the salad. One bite, two bites, three bites, four. And not hungry. Gah. Come on, Katara, you can do this. Don't disappoint the kid. Five.] This is very good.

[Six, and she starts to feel a little uncomfortable.] Would it be okay if I grabbed some water?

[ack, he totally forgot about something to drink. As for her reaction to the food, he doesn't notice - some just eat slowly]

Sorry! I'll get you some right now.

That's OK! Thank you.

[And meanwhile she will just... set her fork down and stare at the salad. Just looking at it makes her feel less hungry, so she quickly looks away. This isn't right. She should be able to eat. But it tastes like sand.]

[there's chilled water already in the fridge, so he'll grab that. Upon turning around he'll notice her gaze pointedly not on the food. That... worries him. And hurts a little. But if the customer isn't happy, that's his fault]

... Is it not good?

[Crap, Katara. Think of something.] No, it's fine, Sanji! I'm just.. more thirsty than hungry.

...I haven't been hungry a lot. It's not the food.

....

Are you gonna eat it?

[Katara looks from Sanji's face to the salad. She's faced worse enemies than this. She can eat the food. Right, let's try this again. Fork, salad, mouth, swallow... bleck. What is wrong with her?]

Maybe it would help if I had that water.

[with a nod, he brings over the aforementioned glass and places it in front of her. And then fidgets a little in place.]

[Gah! That face From someplace far, far away, Katara musters up the ability to smile. And then takes three more bites of the salad. She reaches over to water now - there, that's good enough, right? ...right?]

[No, actually.

It's not.

Because Sanji's still looking at her expectantly, and there's a very sharp quality to his stare now. Like he's a hawk gauging her. It's an expression oddly seated on the features of a child.]

You're not gonna finish it. [That's not a tone you'd hear a child using either, as it sounds... odd. Slightly hollowed out]

...[Katara lays her fork down beside the salad and stares at it accusingly. She's not quite dense enough to keep from realizing that there's something wrong here, when she'd usually have finished the salad by now and had a happy little boy next to her, instead of one who it sounded like she'd hurt.

Was that it? Was she just going to give up?

...just the thought of eating more made her stomach heave.]

I don't think I can, Sanji. I'm sorry. [And she means it.] Maybe I'm coming down with something.