markofthebrave | [Action, Voice] .012

Mmm.

[Ginko watches her cross the room to sit down, and smiles through the hand curved over his mouth] Sounds complicated. [You don't have to talk about it.]

It's a long story. He's not... he's... [...she's not even sure why she's protecting him now, he was such a jerk the last time they talked.] Changed. Hopefully.

[Katara glances down.] I really, really do hope so. It's not often anyone gets this much of a second chance.

[More like a temporary pause of the inevitable, that could be reversed at any moment. But that's only one way to think about it, in the end. "Second chance" is as fair as any other description.]

I see. So it really is complicated.

Does he-- have anything to do with Azula?

[And that makes her laugh again.] Jet? No - no, they don't know each other.

[The tea should be seeped by now, so she reaches to pour it, still smiling.] Jet's from the Earth Kingdom. He... liked to call himself a Freedom Fighter. He hates the Fire Nation.

[She picks up her tea cup and leans back.] And I... can't really imagine Azula apart from it.

Ahhhh. I see. [what a recipe for disaster. He takes a cup as well, cigarette held in the other hand]

What is Azula's relationship to the fire nation, precisely? Was the fire nation always at war with the other nations-- or did someone start the war for a reason?

Azula and Zuko are both the children of Fire Lord Ozai. Since the war ended, Zuko is the new fire lord... but they were both in line for the thrown before that. ...they were both always trained to fight for the Fire Nation.

[A pause, and Katara glances down into her cup, trying to gather her thoughts. There's a lot there that isn't her story to tell, but it's hard to give the full story without... crossing some boundaries. And there's so much that she needs to figure out how to tell Roku, that having Ginko as a sounding board would be... really good.] We learned a lot more about the beginning of the war because we were traveling with Aang. One hundred years ago when Roku was the Avatar, he and Fire Lord Sozin were best friends. They even shared a birthday. When Roku was sixteen, it was revealed that he was the next Avatar, and Roku left to start his training... and Sozin stayed in the Fire Nation to become the Fire Lord.

[It's... so hard to imagine these figures of legend and hatred as... people. But the fact that Roku is here now is proof enough of that.] Years later, when Roku returned to the Fire Nation, he and Sozin reunited. And Sozin confided in his best friend his ambition.

[She takes a sip of her tea. She's not quite looking at Ginko, but neither is she looking down anymore.] All of the nations were living in peace, but the Fire Nation had been enjoying an 'unprecedented amount of prosperity.' And with the Avatar at his side, Sozin wanted to... share that. At least, that's what he said. Roku put him off, telling him to get the thought out of his head. But Sozin never did.

"Share it", huh?

[Ginko listens to the whole story carefully. He has never experienced war first hand-- but strife is another story.]

These nations, in your world-- Earth, Air, Fire, and Water-- they are independent from one another? With their own rulers? [He can already see how this story ends.]

[She nods.] That's right. And I don't see what he ever shared... besides suffering.

[Katara leans forward and places her tea cup on the table. Suddenly, she doesn't have much of an appetite.] Eventually, Sozin found a way around Roku, and Roku died. [That part of the story is horrible and private and she doesn't want to share it with anyone, just in case. Her voice lowers.] Twelve years past as Sozin built his army and made his plans. And on the day of the comet, when the firebenders' power was doubled... he attacked and slaughtered every Air Nomad in the four temples. Any other remaining airbender was hunted down. Before we found Aang, it had been a hundred years since anyone had seen an airbender.

And that was just the beginning.

["found away around?" The meaning of that seems pretty clear. Bluntly,] So Sozin found a way to get Roku killed. [Ginko begins to form an idea of just how complicated this situation is. Followed by a sharp prickle of disgust for the Malnosso once again-- Shifting. What a thing to toy with... bringing all of these histories and human emotions clashing unnaturally together.

When Katara describes the extinction of the airbenders, the single green eye widens a little. So this is the kind of war these children were born into. And that child, who'd he'd only seen through the journals-- that was the Avatar? Huh.....fate is pretty strange. He muses--] So... this Sozin killed off the airbenders in an attempt to keep the Avatar from reincarnating? Since he was throwing off the balance of your world-- and the Avatar in any incarnation would have sought to stop him?

Hnn. [a pause, and he waits for her to continue]

[Ah, so he'd figured it out. Katara doesn't think Ginko would say anything, but just in case...] Please don't mention anything about that to Roku. I'd even keep the war from him if I could, but there's just... no way to avoid that. But he doesn't need to know how it happened. [Her brow furrows.] At least, I hope not.

Mm. Of course. [he raises an eyebrow, and thinks of the girl with the eyes that could see the futures of others.] Especially if the pieces of fate are already set. [but who knows?] It's a truth he will have to confront at one point in time, or another.

I guess so... [She sighs a little and shifts back in her seat to better address him.]

And you were right. That's exactly why Sozin went after the Air Nomads. After that he just... continued to spread eastwards. The Earth Kingdom is our largest nation... wait, here.

[And so, up comes the tea between them, and she bends it into a semblence of a map of their world.] See, the Fire Nation is here. And the Earth Kingdom spreads across like this...

And here's home, at the South Pole. [The word 'home' hits her heart oddly for a second, and she pauses.] So you can see how the Fire Nation swept across the world. They hit us next, along with the Earth Kingdom...

[you'll have to permit him a moment of distraction, Katara. Because you just made a map in the air out of tea. And that's just fascinating.

After blinking and a widening smile, his attention focuses to the landmasses you're gesturing to-- getting a feel for the way your world is divided.]

Yeah-- I could see how the smaller nations would be more vulnerable to attack. [thoughtfully] The Earth Kingdom is certainly very large. And Sozin intended to rule your entire world, this way?

What made the firebenders so unstoppable? Is their bending more powerful-- or do they perhaps focus on its violent use more than the other nations?

[And in goes the tea, back to the teacup. She's still smiling a little wryly from the way he stared at the map. It's nice for her bending to be appreciated.]

I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that the world was so surprised. There had never been a war like this before. The Avatar had always stepped in and stopped it before things got too far. The Fire Nation had prepared for years... they didn't just have benders, they had warships and armor and all kinds of machines for attacking on land.

And fire is a destructive element by its nature. It's hungry... it's alive... in order for it to be used for anything that's not harmful, it takes a lot of control. [She shakes her head.] And it's not as if firebenders have to take their fire with them. It comes from the breath. They can fight anywhere and - it doesn't matter. Though they do have a hard time with the cold...

...that might have been why they went after us first.

[Ginko remembers.

Isn't that how man mastered fire? With intelligence?

Very glib. But your ignoring the larger issue here.

No, wait! You don't know what will happen if you burn it...]

I can certainly agree with you about fire.

[thoughtful pause, considering her] It seems the elements in your world harmonize with their people in some degree. [characterize what's important to them...]

Mm. So they surprised the world an conquered most of it. And you say that war went on for how long?

[Katara would interact with that statement - about the elements harmonizing with their people, because that's true in some ways and pretty much fascinating. But then he asks that question. And her hand goes up to her necklace.]

A hundred years. [Pause. There's more to say - about what they did, about what happened. But it's hard to force out of her throat for a moment. Still. She has a feeling he wants to know, and if she's going to ask for his help, he'll need more information... and she doesn't hold back very well.]

My tribe... in the beginning of the war, they came for us relentlessly. They didn't want us to be able to leave, to help anyone else. So they went after the waterbenders. At home, we used to be able to use bending to make our cities - houses and streets and gates made out of snow, all maintained by bending. But the Fire Nation... killed or captured every waterbender in the South Pole.

[She's not looking at him now. So he might not see the look that crosses her face when she thinks of Hama. The pain and grief is personal, and not a history lesson.] That was eighty years ago. When I was born, we still knew what the black snow meant, but the raids had died down... they didn't want to stay in the South Pole, and they didn't see us as of a threat. But they wouldn't let us forget about them either. They'd still come and attack our home, try to keep us in our place.

[Her hand drops to her lap, and she looks up at him, the expression on her face very quiet, and very sure.] I'm the last waterbender of my tribe. And for a long time, there was no one to teach me.

[A hundred years...

the idea of bending making cities, and the benders being the primary targets in war-- it's all working to form a much more complete picture of the world Katara comes from. And that fierce what my bending means to me...he smiles a little sadly.

"Keep us in our place", huh? That explains even more.

And at her very last remark, Ginko takes the cigarette from his mouth and looks at his thoughtfully, between laced fingers. The last.]

I can see why it's so important to you.

[he looks up again to meet her eyes. It's all he has to say.]

[Katara blinks and looks over at him with wide eyes - and she remembers. She's a little embarrassed at what she said - it hadn't been the kindest thing she'd ever said. But she wouldn't take it back either. And suddenly, it's very important to her that Ginko does understand. So even though this isn't really the point of this conversation at all, she starts sharing more... more than she's ever told anyone else. At home, there hadn't been a need. Everyone had seen it, and those who hadn't had seen her when she'd already mastered her element. She wonders for a moment what Toph - with her fine mansion and rich foods - would have thought of their home in the South Pole before brushing the thought aside and leaning slightly forward.]

I was very young when I first started bending - and it took my parents a while to figure out what had happened. They'd never seen waterbenders before. It was my Gran-Gran who finally recognized what I was doing - [And her lips twitch up for a second] - she said she just couldn't understand why Sokka kept coming back from stealing my toys soaking wet until she saw it herself. I was almost five at the time. And she kept it to herself for a while. But it wasn't too long before she told my dad.

[Another quick, painful smile - like a crack in glass.] Dad was thrilled. He started looking for a master for me as soon as he could. But there wasn't any... not in the whole South Pole. And it didn't matter that I had the power if I didn't have the skill. Before Aang showed up and [believed in me] taught me some of the basics of just - bending - the most I could do was stream water. And I had to make that up myself.

[And I practiced, by myself, for hours just to get that - and no one cared.] And it didn't do any good - at all. In fact, [Her face is pained, embarrassed] the village didn't like me practicing my bending there at all - there were a few really embarrassing accidents, and... it wasn't as if it could do any good, rebuild the village or hunt, or fight, or anything...

[And she shakes her head slowly, and drops her gaze.] And it didn't matter that Dad had tried to be quiet when he was looking for a waterbending master for me. The Fire Nation found out anyway. [And at that, her throat simply... closes up. For a long moment, she can't speak, and when she does next, her voice is heavy.] They came back. And they destroyed our village. Home used to be what was left of a city... now it's a bunch of tents, a hall - a giant igloo, and the village fire pit. [She shakes her head as if to clear it and looks back up at him.] It was better that way, easier to defend after the warriors left. Less open space meant more warmth in the cold months, and we got by.

[And she smiles a little.] And after we went to the North Pole, Master Pakku brought down a bunch of other waterbenders to help rebuild the village. I can't wait to see what it looks like now.

[All my life, the one thing I most wanted to be, the only thing I wanted to be, was a brave waterbender. To be able to help my family and my tribe. To be who I really was.]

Edited 2010-04-30 20:28 (UTC)

[ Stories of death, and dreams, and tragedies-- shortcomings and ambitions... Ginko's life is made of up of these, a patchwork of other peoples' stories. He walks through them, like the weather.

But these aren't quite normal circumstances-- and the alternating moments of pain and fond remembrance are not crossing the face of a stranger. And so wile he listens to the story, piecing together the history of a world and it's people-- he is also deeply moved for the girl who sits in front of him. And the weight of fear and apprehension and loss that is not conveyed by her words, he feels in the moments of silence, and the tension in her fingers against the cup. He makes especial note of the foul memories that "they came back" must be saturated in.

He has seen total destruction before-- not of war, but of natural disaster. But nature does not hate, or plan. And it returns what it takes with the impassive regularity of the seasons.

She's so determined... but on such unstable ground.

So he takes everything that she tells him like a gift, not saying anything until she's finished. Then he smiles faintly.]

So. And from that destroyed village came their only waterbender-- and she fought for every skill she could learn. And in the end helped to restore balance to all the nations.

["dad was thrilled" ....quietly] Your father must be very proud of his children.

[She blinks at his words, startled at the compliment.] Well - yes, I mean. I did. But we did it together, all of us.

[Even if for me it's still not done. - And now she feels a bit... exposed. She hasn't told him about Pakku, about what she had to do to learn, but... now... well. She'd wanted him to know.]

And I hope he is.

[And because she feels exposed... and the story has served its purpose... and before she can begin to regret what she shared... Katara moves on:]

My village wasn't the only one the Fire Nation destroyed... all across the Earth Kingdom, there are orphans and villages in the grip of the Fire Nation, earthbenders who were forced to work for them... Jet was one of those, an orphan.

[And she shakes her head now.] But Roku -- he doesn't know, he doesn't understand any of this. Aang didn't either, when he first work up. The world had been without war. And it took... horrible things for him to believe us, for it to be real to him. I - don't know how to tell him...

...but with Azula here...

[Well, that tells him a little about Jet, for now. At "how to tell him", his brow furrows slightly] But...in the end. This isn't your world, no matter how many of you come here. And he belongs to a different time-- a history that has probably already been set. [ Ohh....he can't think about that for too long. ] He lived his lifetime. He can't change or be responsible for the future. Is it so important for him to know?

[he considers the little he's heard of them]

You think Azula might tell the story with her own actions?

[She pauses for a long moment and turns the situation around in her head - and then looks at Ginko.] Before I met Roku, I don't know if I would have believed that a firebender could be like he is - he's so... innocent. The way Aang was. Right down to the end, Aang would tell us stories about how he had friends in the Fire Nation...

...Azula and Zuko aren't like that. And I know he wants to ask about Zuko's scar... even if we could convince both of them to lie to him, he'd still know something was different just by how... hard they are, in comparison. And Azula...

[She shakes her head.] She really believes that she's better, that the Fire Nation is better than everyone. She doesn't just say it - she believes it. She was the one who suggested burning the Earth Kingdom to the ground. Of course, that was probably just what Ozai wanted to hear, but... still. He's not... blind. He'd have to see the difference.

Hmm. Well, that kind of belief-- in superiority-- is a strong motivator.

[then he trails back to her first statement with a smile and a slight shake of his head]

Honestly-- I'd be more surprised if there weren't a good many people like that. I doubt the entire nation is as bloodthirsty or power-hungry as it's leader. What about the farmers that raise the nation's food? Or the craftsmen and tradesmen? Even if the children's minds are shaped from a young age...they can't all be evil.

But to be raised form childhood into the kind of power that Azula and Zuko would have had? [a pause] .....what is Zuko's history with you and your brother?

[Katara shakes her head, smiling a little.] No, the whole nation isn't like that - although... well. The soldiers, they... seemed to be the same, anywhere.

And Zuko... heh. That's a long story. [And not all of it is mine to tell.]

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