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~~.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Dodging that whip there Katara. Obviously his chat didn't work. Oh well, time for a new plan.]

The idea of friendly sparring is to be able to both react to an attach and initiate an attack. If you only respond to me starting the round you'll never be able to initiate a good attack when it would matter.

Are you kidding me? First I'm attacking you too hard and now I don't know how to attack?

[And she might just be playing right into what he's saying, but she's starting to pull water up from the stream behind him now, and it will shoot towards his leg.]

[Well with that much warning Zuko is going to be prepared fo it, and is going to be able to dodge and flame at it.]

Do you know who you remind me of right now? Me.

[Oh no you didn't. This waterwhip is coming straight at your back, before you have a chance to turn around - if it connects it will shove you forward.]

What? What are you talking about.

[Please. Explain. Before she gets really pissed.]

[Well Zuko is going to take the initiative and instead of letting that waterwhip push him forward, he is going to start moving forwards himself. As he moves he's going to start throwing streams of fire at Katara.]

You're being angry and irrational and not listening to anything that is being said to you.

What? [Katara is going to respond by coating her arms in water and batting those flames away, standing her ground.] I'm not listening to what's being said because you're not making any sense.

And I'm angry because you're being impossible! First you say you want to spar, then you're throwing lame punches out at me, and then when I start to fight you tell me I'm going too hard - why did you even come out here?

[Zuko is continuing to move towards Katara, speeding up the pace at which he throws fire at her as he comes closer.]

Would you just listen to yourself. I came here to spar with you.

[You are getting too close. And so Katara throws up a watershield and under its cover begins to run towards you at an angle, gathering water from the stream as she goes - it's a risky move, and while she's running towards him her side is completely unprotected.]

Then what is your problem?

Edited 2010-05-14 23:44 (UTC)

[Risky move indeed Katara. And Zuko is going to take advantage of that. He's going to feint with a couple of fire punches, and then going to fling a forceful blast at her unprotected side.]

It's not my problem, it's your problem.

[He is not making sense, and that is distracting her, which is why although she can dodge those fire punches, the blast catches her on her side. And that will knock her right back into the stream, causing the water she's gathered to splash around her. She surfaces, glaring, but doesn't attack since he'd seemed to have such a problem with those circles of ice. She's far from done, but for now she's just a waterbender surrounded by her element, glaring at her sparring partner.]

I don't even know what you're talking about!

[Home element or whatever, Zuko is going to keep on pressing for the advantage, unrelenting with his firepunches and firekicks.]

You. Being stupid. Or do I always send you flying in our spars. You're not focusing.

Ugh! [And she sends a water jet right at him - it's strong and it's carrying plenty of water with it - it will take care of those bits of fire flying right at her. You might want to look out for the smaller waterwhip that is hidden right behind it, because it is headed for your thigh.]

I'm only being stupid because I'm trying to understand you and you don't make any sense!

[Zuko has been looking out for those multiple whips since Katara started with it. And so this time Zuko is going to go up to avoid the whip. And while he's there he'll throw some sky fire at Katara.]

Well why don't you stop and think through everything I've said. Might make more sense the second time.

[Oh, fine, jump - but she's got more than enough energy to muster up a form you might remember from a certain cave experience - and she's pretty much resorted to tuning you out, because you make no sense

So while one tendril meets firey doom in blocking that punch, another one is going to wrap around his leg while he's up in the air and pull him down to the stream with her.]

Edited 2010-05-15 00:31 (UTC)

[Okay Zuko is a little surprised by that tendril grabbing him and pulling him down, however when he hits the water he realises he's going to need to move fast. Standing in water while fighting a waterbender is not the best of ideas. He's going to move towards her as fast and as carefully as he can with his fire daggers in his hand, looking like he'll be using those on her. When he's in range however he'll actually go for a leg swipe to knock her off her feet. He's going to be trying to stay as close to Katara as he can, so that any big waterbending moves will also hit her.]

[She has more than enough time to throw up any number of water attacks between them, but she stands her ground. Those daggers are a concern - she has nothing in her arsenal that can meet them and hold, but he formed them as he rushed towards her and the most she can do is bend down to get ready to jump back - and it's a good thing too, because she clears his foot swiping underneath her.

Her eyes widen - that's changed the game. She quickly steps to the side and from that space between them causes a wave with hard edges to launch it self up towards his head while she moves back, scrambling for room.]

[Zuko has had enough. Katara is starting to worry him with how much like the old him she is acting. He'll manage to avoid the wave by moving to the side with Katara. Not liking breaking the unwritten rules of their sparring by using his physical combat skills, Zuko feints with his fire blades to the side, and then when it looks like they are about to actually hit Katara, he'll really attacks her physically, forcing her to overbalance backwards into the water. Zuko will pin her down, and shackle her wrists with fire. And then he'll start yelling at her.]

Would you just listen to me and stop and think for a minute.

Ooof! Ow! [That hurt. And now she's knocked down, in the water, with Zuko pinning her hands and trapping her feet beneath his. He was heavy, and she was trapped and - for a moment - scared. She couldn't bend without her hands or her feet, and the fire was so close to her and - there's no way that Zuko will miss the fear in her eyes.

And he won't miss how it's replaced by anger either. She hates to lose, and she hates being scared, even if this was clearly cheating and Zuko has just crossed ten different kinds of boundaries. They haven't been this close since - and now he's yelling at her?]

Get off of me! What do you think you're doing?

Edited 2010-05-29 05:27 (UTC)

[The strength pinning Katara down will lighten, but not totally go away. It's still there enough to stop her from bending, but Zuko doesn't want to let her up until he's sure she's understood what he's been trying to say. Hopefully like she can read his emotions as easily as he seems to be reading hers. That self loathing for what he just did. But she was starting to scare him with how much she was reminding him of the Zuko that first faced her.]

Trying to make you listen. This isn't why I suggested a spar. Why are you being so irrational. You're smarter and better then this. Or at least I thought you were.

[Unfortunately, Katara is not really paying attention to Zuko or trying to understand - she's quickly moving beyond angry into a cold calm, calculating what she'd have to do to get out of this and how she'd have to hurt him if he didn't move.]

I'm irrational? You're the one who's trying to hem me in with fire!

[She takes a deep breath and meets his gaze evenly.] Zuko. Get off me. I'm not going to tell you again.

[It's a matter of respect now - if he gets off her, she'll rage and listen, but if he doesn't he's endangering the trust between them.]

Edited 2010-05-29 06:05 (UTC)

[Zuko will close his eyes for a moment as he gathers himself. Being this angry is not what he wants. When he opens then he'll look at Katara and speak to her in a reasonable tone.]

I let you up and we talk. No bending, or anything else? [Like, you know, him attacking her without bending.]

Edited 2010-05-29 06:15 (UTC)

[Her voice is cold.]

Or else what, Zuko? Are you going to hurt me? [She pauses to let him know - yes, she could and very much would feel justified in viewing this as a threat. He's not holding her as tightly as he was at first, and if she wanted to, the chances were very good that she could surprise him by ripping right through those fire cuffs - and she wouldn't hesitate to do it. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembers: Zuko is an idiot. And so she's very careful in what she says next.]

No. You get up because I told you to get off me and we will sit down and talk like two friends who have a lot to talk about and not because of anything else.

[Trust me or you don't. Just like I'm trusting you and not attempting to murder you right now.]

Edited 2010-05-29 06:24 (UTC)

There wasn't an or else. It was a request, for both of us. [The voice is soft, so soft that Katara might have missed it, and then he's not holding her down any more. Or in the river. With a small boost from his firebending he's jumped and landed on a relatively dry patch of ground, back where they were sparring initially.]

Edited 2010-05-29 06:41 (UTC)

[Katara does hear him, but it's the tone that penetrates more than the words. And then he's jettisoned himself off, and the fire around her wrists vanish. The heat of her anger has cooled, leaving only cold resolve behind. And so as she moves, she only notes the ways she could have attacked him, she doesn't actually feel tempted.

So Katara stansds and takes the few short steps towards the shore, bending the water off of herself. She holds his gaze. And then glances around until she sees a rock large enough for the two of them to sit on, halfway between where he's standing and the river.

Silently, she walks over to it and sits down. There's room next to her, if he dares.]

Edited 2010-05-29 06:52 (UTC)

[Zuko stays standing where he is for a while. He wants to just keep on going, but in the back of his mind he keeps hearing Katara's voice after she had healed him after his run in with Aku and Yuber.

... it's what friends do... next time... don't run...

And after what feels like an age he'll turn around and go sit on the rock beside Katara. We're friends right? He really hopes he hasn't managed to muck it all up.]

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