markofthebrave | [Action, Chickening Out Written, and Voice] .015

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[Action, Chickening Out Written, and Voice] .015

[What with Zuko's unexpected and somewhat... well, dubious bout of hopefully-it-will-be-win and please don't burn their house again, Katara has an unexpected bout of free time. This is both a good thing, and a bad thing, since with the craziness of her first few months dying down, Katara has started to feel homesickness pressing down on her. Couple that with Sokka's keeping secrets, his friendship with Ty Lee, and learning chi blocking, the extra time to think is not... exactly... happy.

So here she is, at the bridge by her house, standing at the arch and staring out over the water.]

[Filtered to Ginko 70 percent]

Ginko, have you ever-

Is there a time where

I need

[No. It wasn't fair to bring anyone into this. She'd figure it out the same way she always did.]

[Voice: Filtered away from Zuko, 70%]

~~So... has anyone else noticed anything strange going on tonight? There isn't a new experiment going on, is there?~~

[And pretty much immediately after this comment Katara is going to find a way to erase this voice post if it kills her. She didn't mean to upset anyone! It was just - so weird.]

[...And sometime after dinner, she'll be returning to her practicing routine outside of the house, in case she's due for a talking to ~~you know who you are~~.]

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[She glances back up at him for a moment.] I don't think of you that way anymore. Not really.

[And then she pulls her legs up and hugs them to her chest as she stares straight ahead.] I was angry. I don't like not knowing what to do.

[Well that is nice Katara to hear you say that, but that's not what he meant. There will be a quick glance at Katara before going back to that dirt studying.] Fine, how about the me you met when you first found the avatar. That's who you reminded me of.

[Zuko understands that feeling of not knowing what to do. He'd spend a lot of his life like that, totally focused on finding the Avatar and restoring his honour. Not knowing what he could do, his anger had increased as he channeled it into something, anything, to feel like he had a purpose in life. It was only later he really realised what he had done, finding a new purpose, understanding his uncle... And the thing that had triggered so much of that anger and uncertainty. Surely Katara wasn't suffering from that. She had her brother here. She's been traveling the world with the Avatar. why would she be...] Homesick?

[She glances up at him quickly.] Homesick?

[Was that... it? She looks away and wraps her arms a little tighter around her knees.] Yeah. I guess I am.

I miss... everything. And - we knew what to do. This place...

... is very different?

[She speaks lowly:] I hate it here. Nothing matters - the Malnosso mess with our minds and our hearts and we die and come back in a week and lose pieces of ourselves-- people come and go and there's nothing we can do about it--

And then people come from home and it's like - what do we do with them? We can't treat them like we're at home but we can't just forget either. I hate not knowing what to do.

[Hey rock, you are the most interesting rock ever seen by Zuko. That's why he's staring so hard at you.]

People like my sister and her friends? Or like Roku?

Either. Both, I guess. [Is it possible for Katara to hunch up any smaller? Because if it is, she's doing it.]

I just - don't understand why Sokka is being so friendly with Ty Lee. I'm not... unwilling to give her a chance, or anything, but it's... not easy.

[Why is it so easy for him and not for me? How can he just let these things go? She shakes her head a little.] I just - get the feeling that - she doesn't even care.

[Right... Ty Lee... He should have guessed that from what Sokka said while they were making dinner. Oh well.]

Did Sokka ever talk to you about what happened with Ty Lee and Mai? At the end?

[She nods.

It's not enough.

Moving quickly to save a friend is not enough.

And just as she was about to let it pass, a vague remembrance stirs - Mai helped them because of Zuko, didn't she? And she glances up at him in curiosity and concern.]

[And Zuko totally fails to see that nod, so it's only when he feels Kataras gaze on him that he stops checking out the rock and looks back, totally unsure of why he's getting that look.]

I know... that Mai saved you. [She watches to attempt to determine whether or not hearing her name effects him. She's not trying to make him upset.] And that Ty Lee saved Mai.

[Katara won't see a reponce in Zuko's face. Actually she'll find that she can't seem to get any idea of whether Mai's name effected Zuko or not.]

Well yes. But I was more meaning after that. How she joined the Kyoshi Warriors.

Edited 2010-06-02 06:08 (UTC)

[She blinked. Had he?] If he did, I don't remember it.

Well she did. Ty Lee made friends with them while she was in prison for saving Mai that time.

[...so? So what? That still doesn't mean anything - and anyway, Ty Lee was from before the end, wasn't she? So it didn't happen yet, not really.]

You grew up with her, right? What was she like?

A bit of a show off. She's good at acrobatics. And, well, Azula's friends were all for doing what she wanted, whether they liked it or not. [There's a slight pause and then Zukos voice picks up a slight mocking tone.] One of the benefits of being the Fire Lords children. People would do what you wanted whether they wanted to or not.

Edited 2010-06-03 01:08 (UTC)

[So - that... doesn't really tell her much. It's okay, though. She's tired. She'll think about it more later. And... maybe... try to find out for herself. She catches that mocking tone, and speaks a little dryly.] Sounds terrible. Good thing you're stuck with us now. We never listen to you.

When tormenting me was the best thing Azula could thing of doing? Yeah, it was a whole lot of fun.

[Zuko will pause for a moment before continuing on, back to studying the ground again.] You know Ty Lee might just be a link for Sokka to remember the Kyoshi Warriors and Suki. Maybe.

[She hadn't thought of that - but after a moment she shakes her head.] Ty Lee is nothing like Suki.

[And growing up with Azula must have been a real treat. She winces slightly thinking about it.]

They don't have to be alike to remember. But you know Sokka better then I do.

I do know that Ty Lee didn't like the way Azula pushed her around. But to stand up to Azula... [Zuko leaves the rest of that sentence handing for Katara's imagination to fill in.]

[Her imagination does a Very Good Job of filling in those blanks, thanks very much. She sighs a little.] It couldn't have been easy.

[But that didn't make following Azula to the point of hunting down Aang all right.]

[Zuko was pretty sure Katara's imagination could do that. He gets lost for a few unhappy moments in the memories of behaving that way himself and then pushes them away.]

Azula offered Ty Lee a way to be special. To be different. She looks exactly like all her other 6 sisters. Without Azula she was just another one of an identical set. I do wonder what Azula had to do to make Ty Lee leave the circus and follow her to chase down the Avatar. Ty Lee was happy there from all that I'd heard. Then again, Azula can be very persuasive to get what she wants.

[You know if dirt could blush, it probably would be from how hard Zuko is staring at it while he's talking to Katara.]

... [And she sighs. Her voice is very tired.] Thank you for telling me.

...I'll try. But... even if she had hard reasons... nothing makes it all right. You know that. [Don't you? Your reasons were the best of all, after all - and you were still wrong.]

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[Action, Chickening Out Written, and Voice] .015

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