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!]

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[Katara tilts her head up at the sky a little, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face before shaking her head with a little laugh.]

No. It's never warm enough to rain where I'm from - it only snows. [A pause.] I'm from the Southern Watertribe. That's my world's South Pole.

[Tanyuu considers that a moment. She can't claim to know much on geography, even within Japan itself. Just imagining a place of constant snow though is enough.]

I can't imagine that. We have our own periods of snow now and then. [She laughs a bit.] I'm not sure how well I would handle a constant supply of it.
Watertribe? That's an interesting name.

[Katara shrugs.] It's cold. But it's home.

[And though their pace has been slow and easy, they should soon be coming up to the village square. Katara will lead them towards the restaurant. She's given this explanation a few times by now, but she doesn't really mind.] In my world, the nations are determined by the four elements - Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. There's the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Watertribes. The Air Nomads lived on the four corners of the world, in their temples.

[Tanyuu follows the lead easily. She does cast a glance around the square itself, acquainting herself a little with the buildings that lay around.
She directs her glance back to Katara soon though, clearly interested. Just look at that curious expression.]

That's fascinating. Each of the nations are linked to an element then. Is there a reason for that?

Well, it's probably because of our bending. There are people in each nation that can manipulate an element. I'm a waterbender.

That is fascinating. I've never really heard of such an idea.

[Let her laugh a moment here though.]

I imagine you've already had to go over all of this with Ginko though already.

[Katara shrugs.] I've gone over it with most new people that I meet. I like hearing about their worlds, so it's only fair. Ginko told me a little bit about mushi too.

We're all from such different places... it's fascinating to hear about, and try to find some common ground. I even met someone who's world had different elements, and someone who's world had a clan of talking ducks!

[And soon they'll be approaching The Seventh Heaven.]

Edited 2010-04-14 16:34 (UTC)

[Not such a bad pace then. Permit Tanyuu to be just a little silently proud of that fact.
Entering the building will draw a small moment of silence from her as she looks over the interior. It's decidedly different from buildings of her era, plus she's never been in any sort of inn or such before.
She finally does speak again though, once the pair are set up with a place to sit and she's made herself comfortable.]

Trading stories, hm? Sounds like fun.

[She leans her chin on her hand then, smiling a bit.]

I confess that I like to hear people talk about their experiences just a little too much sometimes. You don't mind telling me more about bending then?

[Actually, Katara has been getting a little tired of explaining bending to people, but Tanyuu is just so genuine and interested, she finds herself really not minding.]

No, not at all. [And with that she unlatches her waterskin and draws some water out, over her hand. She lets the water chase itself around in a continuous stream as she talks.] In my world, bending is an art form that certain people from each nation can use. Only the Avatar can master all four elements. As a waterbender, I can change water from ice [and suddenly the water in her hand is ice, still circling around], to steam [and then it's steam], and back to water again. [And with that, she lets the water flow back into the waterskin.]

Water is the most adaptable element. That's probably why some of us can also use it to heal. Airbenders can use air to practically fly, and bend it in any direction that they want. Earth benders can move and shape the earth - and our friend Toph even uses her connection with it to be able to see. She'd be blind otherwise. And firebenders can create and manipulate fire.

Edited 2010-04-14 17:23 (UTC)

[And Tanyuu shows her appreciation for both the explanation and demonstration accompanying it by keeping her attention on Katara. It's not hard since she is very interested in what the other woman has to say.
Her eyes follow the water through it's tricks and, at the end of the explanation, she gives a big smile.]

Those certainly are great accomplishments. And so many ways to use your talents as well. Healing, moving earth...
We have nothing like that where I'm from.

Oh - accomplishments? I don't know about that. It's just the way things are. [She smiles and shrugs a little.]

It's hard for me to imagine a world without bending... it's just been a part of my life for so long. But then, I guess it's hard for you to imagine a world without mushi too, huh?

[She nods to that lightly.] It certainly is strange. I never realized how accustomed I was to them. They are something like my companions at home. The shimi in particular.

[A light 'hmm' and she adds.] Or how accustomed I was to my daily routines either. I suppose that goes for everyone though.

Edited 2010-04-16 21:16 (UTC)

[Katara grins.] There are some daily routines I don't mind missing. Have you been to the grocery store yet? It's amazing - all that food, all prepared, and all free.

[And then she leans forward a little.] So you can see mushi too? ...What do they look like?

... Really. [Color her surprised, she certainly looks like it.] That certainly is a help, isn't it.

[She smiles a bit more at that.] It depends on the mushi really. They all come in different shapes and sizes, some big and some small. Some are lit up like stars, others are dark. [She pauses there.] I'm afraid though that I'm not very well acquainted with many mushi. I've heard of many of them and know of their traits but I have never seen them myself. Only the smaller mushi tend to come anywhere near the Archives.

Shimi typically inhabit scrolls and have a tendency to unravel any text on them, making the text go running off. [She laughs lightly.] It certainly adds a little excitement every now and then.

[Katara listens attentively, eyes wide.] They sound very beautiful. What are Shimi? A type of mushi that you work with, or...?

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