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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[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?

[For a moment, she just stares at him. And then... oh. She'd thought they'd been through this.] That idiot.

[The look she directs to Nash is fierce. And it's not even at him - the fact that Sokka's been walking around feeling like this again makes her furious. ~~Seriously, doesn't he know the only one allowed to feel insecure and that the whole world is on his back is her?~~ But it makes sense - so many people in Luceti have powers. She loved and valued her bending... but she also vividly remembered how for years it was completely worthless, an annoyance to everyone in the village, while Sokka was the one who got to do cool stuff like learn to hunt and fight and she was the one in the cooking tents or mending his pants. But powers weren't always what mattered - everything came down to how you used it. And here Sokka is, going to school behind her back, talking to strangers about his fears... All this rushes in like a flood and comes out in one sentence.] Sokka is far from useless.

I completely agree. His insecurity is ill-founded and somewhat exasperating. That doesn't change the fact that it's there.

[Thanks, Nash. Add another worry to her list. Right now? She's just so angry that this is yet another thing that she can't fight - why can't he see that everything he does--] I'm not going to stop learning how to adapt here in order to spare Sokka's feelings.

[She's been useless and helpless too many times to go back to that, even for this, but for a split second - she considered it.] And I'm not going to hide what I'm doing from him, either. But I won't use a sword or a boomerang. I don't think I'd be any good at them anyway.

[She exhales. This isn't Nash's fault.] Any other suggestions?

Sometimes we do things we shouldn't have to for the sake of people we care about. [He shrugs.] I don't think you should stop training, if you want to train. And I don't have anymore suggestions. At least not off the top of my head.

[Well, that's just great.] All right.

Thanks for the heads up. [I guess.]

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