markofthebrave | [Action, Voice] .011

[Sometime early this afternoon, Katara escapes from the house with no particular destination in mind. All she knows is that Zuko is finally well enough to be left alone, and even if he's not Roku - Roku - is around so he's not exactly unprotected.

But between Zuko, Roku, Jet... and the imminent battle with Aku... Katara desperately needs some time to clear her head. And just as importantly - this is her first spring. When they'd left the South Pole with Aang, the world was already in bloom. This is the first time she's actually gotten to see blossoms on trees or fields of budding flowers, and even though the Easter Egg hunt gave her some time to explore, she just can't get enough of it. It's a thousand new sounds and smells, and the thunderstorm has left the sky freshly washed and the blossoms are bright against the green.

She is not headed anywhere in particular, although she has a vague notion of checking in on Tanyuu, she's not sure where Ginko's friend has settled. So after wandering around the borders of the forest and any other place where there may be flowers, and lying down in a field and staring up at the clouds for a while, Katara will head back into town. Once there, she'll poke around the town square for a bit... and decide to explore some of the community houses, because she's only been in there once before and they seem to have mysteriously... grown.

And this is how she ends up on the roof of Community Building 4, leaning on the edge with her journal in her lap and a smile on her face.]

Tanyuu, if you'd like to meet somewhere for tea or something, I'd like to see how you're settling in.

[Feel free to have bumped into her at any point!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Opinions? Whatever, you jerk, what you heard was nothing other than pure fact. You're just lucky you said that in parenthesis. =/ She crosses her arms and leans a little away from you.]

Worst town ever.

[Good thing that was in parenthesis, too, kid. He glances at her, then scowls and adjusts the sash holding his sword. Wings along with the sword on his back is going to take some getting used to.]

Figuring that out.

[Or else what? Glaring? She can handle glaring. Her attention is drawn to his sword again as he adjusts the sash.]

I guess you didn't have any trouble finding your sword.

[He shakes his head.]

Right where you said it would be.

It's huge. [You're not.] I've never seen a sword that big before.

[He's heard enough short jokes in his time to figure out what she's probably thinking. Then again, he automatically thinks the worst of people, too. He half-turns toward her and raises a brow.]

I use it just fine.

That's good. No point carrying it otherwise.

True enough. [And there he goes, adjusting the sash again. Damn wings.]

[He glances at her. Yeah, she doesn't need to know just how he can use Hyourinmaru.]

Are you settling in okay?

Well enough, all things considered. [He shrugs.] Don't have much choice in the matter anyway.

That's true. We are pretty much stuck here. Though it's easier to adjust if you've got some people from your world here... even if it's horrible that they're here too. Did you find anyone from your world?

My world's in the middle of a war. I've found a handful here, from both sides.

Ah. [Katara leans against the wall.] You too, huh?

Well, if it's any comfort - it seems that we're dropped off exactly where and when we were taken from when we are returned. So you won't miss anything.

[He glances at her. He's heard that a couple times and it's just as not comforting now as it was the first time. He turns away and shrugs.]

It's not. It was... a trying time for a lot of us.

Mmm. [There's really not much to say about that. 'War is like that' doesn't seem to fit. On the other hand...]

...my world has been at war for a hundred years. It's never easy.

[He blinks at her. He rather hopes this war with Aizen doesn't last that long.]

No. I can't imagine so. [She gets a considering look and an almost imperceptible nod.] I was taken in the middle of a battle. Several were injured. Maybe killed. I don't know. [Yeah, he's not going to rub his wrist where he distinctly remembers a sword severing it. Except he totally does.]

[She catches that motion, but doesn't say anything about it.] That must be hard. Not knowing.

I was lucky when I got here - Sokka and Toph were both taken from further along in our time than I was. They were able to tell me what happened.

[He grunts in acknowledgment. Yes, Katara, it is hard not knowing. And, believe it not, what she says next is a little more comforting than when she was actually trying to be comforting.]

Maybe I'll find out about some of them, then, somehow.

You never know who's going to show up here.

[Like... people you'd left behind for dead.]

[He nods once at her.]

Yeah. [And if that's not a cue to change the subject, nothing is.] Seems like quite a diverse crowd here.

[She nods.] There are people from all over. Even a few dogs and wolves.

Huh. Lot of different worlds. Probably just as many wars.

[Nah, he's not cynical. Why would you say that?] You mentioned there were a few people I needed to stay away from. Any more tips for survival?

Guard your wings. We need them to survive.

[She shrugs.] Other than the evil psychotic super-powerful villains, everyone else is pretty nice. The food's free. The clothes are free. And if it's not for the experiments, Luceti would almost be a nice place to live.

Ah. [That probably explains why the damned thing had hurt like all hell when he'd caught it on a door earlier in the day.]

What sort of experiments? [Because, really, that never sounds good.]

...I've only been here for one. They made us fall in love with whoever first responded to our journals. Then one before that, they made them want to be things that were just... opposite to them. A friend of mine who's a pirate wanted to be a marine. My brother wanted to be a firebender.