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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Try to find a style that works with your smaller size, not against it. I'm sure there are plenty here who would be qualified to teach. And here, I can give you something. [And he rummages around in his pockets fairly dramatically.]

Something that works with my size..? [Her size doesn't mean anything in bending, other than the fact that she's usually underestimated. That usually ends in fairly short order - she hadn't even considered how it could be a factor in choosing a weapon. ~~What is she doing? This is crazy - she's a bender, she doesn't need...~~ And her train of thought is handily cut off at Nash's offer.]

Really? What? [Nash's dramatics are met with unabashed curiosity, as her face lightens and she looks at him expectantly.]

Here! [It's a small ball, apparently ceramic. Ta-daa!] If you throw it on the ground, it breaks, and there's a special sort of smoke inside. It incapacitates someone for a short while— as long as they need to breathe. Even if they don't, the stuff is usually distracting enough to provide cover to escape. Because sometimes the best defense is not being in the area at all.

[And Katara laughs in impressed delight.] I can agree with that! Thanks, Nash!

[And she will put that carefully in the pouch that she has looped around the same line as her waterskin.]

Heh. Well, running away is a bit of a Clovis specialty.

Heh. [She doesn't completely believe you. Why bother learning a spell like that silent one if you're just going to run?] Well, it worked this long, right?

[She casts a glance over the weapons again.] Is there any one of these that you think would work with my... size?

[It's actually true. Silent Lake takes a long time to cast for someone who isn't that great at magic, and it's easy to interrupt.]

Just pick something that feels comfortable for you to hold and use. I guess I'm partial to darts, but that might be because they're a great way to win money in bars.

Throwing darts? I fought someone who threw knives a few times... she was very good.

[Hmmm...] I guess I could try.

You can use knives from up close, too. They're pretty flexible, as far as weapons go. And useful for eating!

[A knife. Slashing, blood, scars... eeee. But then... the alternative...] I'm not really used to close combat...

[And maybe this isn't the best thing to be telling people, Katara! But she just realized it herself, so... hmm.. maybe picking up a knife would be a good idea. If she could bring herself to use it.]

[He can tell she's uncomfortable with the subject.] There's no reason you should be. Don't let the situation force you to do anything you don't want to.

Heh. I'm kind of used to being able to make a difference, too. [That shiny light in her eyes? Steel hard determination. This place is not going to get the best of her.]

There are ways to make a difference that don't involve fighting. Most of the time, when we leave a mark on the world, we don't even realize we're doing it.

[She's heard something like this speech before. She knows that it's at least partially true. But she doesn't think it applies.]

Maybe that's true. But you have to stay alive long enough to leave that mark.

Absence is a mark, too.

[Katara reacts as if you'd slapped her.] No, it's not. It's an echo. Once someone is gone - they can't change anything. They can't do anything. And all everyone has to live with is the fact that nothing, nothing will ever bring that person back.

[Nash doesn't change his tone, or seem particularly offended.] I'd disagree on all counts. Dead people change everything. That's why we build statues, why we keep telling stories. And there's so much more of a person you can take with you, besides the knowledge that they're not there anymore. [A pause.] But my wife says that I shouldn't be so free with my opinions. That's why they aren't worth anything.

[One hand reaches up to touch her necklace.] What you're saying isn't wrong... but it isn't right either. They don't matter because they're dead. They matter because they lived.

Sometimes dying is the most important thing we ever get to do. Heh, you can tell I've never had children.

[She'd got out of Zuko exactly why her mother died during the love experiment - and every single word Nash is saying hits her like those knives they were talking about. This isn't just theoretical to her - it's deeply personal. She can recognize that he's trying to change the subject, and she's grateful for his help, but there is still something about him that feels hidden and... really, she doesn't want to talk about this anymore, and she doesn't want to cry in front of him either. So she turns away and when she speaks her voice is a little thick.]

Thanks for all your help, Nash. I appreciate it.

[Well, the big part he left out of the "being apprehended for treason" story was how his parents were murdered. And one of the most recent things he witnessed in his own canon was a voluntary human sacrifice, so, he's not exactly coming at this from a theoretical perspective, either. But he's heard from Sokka some about their mother and doesn't really think Katara's problems are any of his business, really. He didn't mean to bring it up.]

I hope you find what you're looking for.

Edited 2010-03-19 21:56 (UTC)

[Ouch, poor Nash. Sadly, Katara is completely absorbed in how his words reflect on her mom giving up her life for her - which is why that comment about 'not having kids yet' mixed with death really just got her. And therefore she won't notice anything that would give away that this is personal to him too. (Her mun, on the other hand, would like to know how on earth it is that every time the two of them talk, he manages to shake her perception of the world a little - it is somewhat astonishing and awesome.) Katara glances over her shoulder at him quickly, and makes a quick attempt at a smile.]

Me too.

[And, taking his advice, Katara heads over to the knives after pausing to give the bos a long considering look.]

[He wouldn't expect Katara to be able to read him, exactly, because he spends a lot of time making sure he's tricky to read. But he has changed his tone to be kinder, because honestly he didn't mean to upset her. (And challenging people's perceptions of the world is what he does in canon so THIS MUN'LL TAKE IT even if she's just kind of stumbling into it haphazardly.) He's walking out the store, now, leaving her in peace, but as he does, he calls out over his shoulder.]

Just don't go for the boomerangs. Or the swords. I don't think your brother would like it.

[She hadn't even considered them - Sokka used them, and in a fight she would need to fill a different hole than he did. For Katara, this is all about swallowing her pride and bending to practical necessity. But something about the way he says that... makes her want to chase him down and question him, despite the fact that she's had enough of having her world shaken today. The wounds his words poked at were old and deep, and quick to flare up still - but in the face of something else they could subside just as quickly. And since Katara is never one to back down from a fight - that is exactly what she does. Catching up to him, she touches his arm to get his attention.]

Nash. Why did you say that?

Well, remember what you were saying about not wanting to feel useless without your bending?

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