markofthebrave | [Action, Voice ] .020

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[Action, Voice ] .020

[After doing everything she could at home to deal with the fact that Zuko was gone, Katara headed out to the lake where she proceeded to bend and cry until she was exhausted. The storm feels good. She made her weary way back to the house with something of a headache, but she didn't think much of it. So what if the lights hurt her eyes? That was normal after so much crying and rage, right?

She fell into a deep, exhausted sleep as soon as she hit the bed. When morning light first entered her room, Katara shifted uneasily. Soon enough she opens her eyes to start the day - and screams. This was beyond a headache, it was like a screaming in her eye, a shooting pain, a burning.

Katara immediately slaps both hands over her eyes and sways back and forth a little to comfort and distract herself from the pain. After a moment of panicked breathing, her adrenaline kicks in and Katara shifts one hand to cover her eyes and fumbles for her journal with the other. Filtering is hopeless right now, even if it had occurred to her, although she'd much rather keep this private. Her voice is scared and filled with suppressed quivering.]

Ginko? I think something's wrong.

[And with that, she clings on to the journal and hopes that someone answers her soon. She can't see anything and it hurts.]

((OOC: This is forward dated to about 6.30am, Tuesday morning, for tagging convenience. Also, a warning: Housemates may commandeer her book.))

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[That's not reassuring at all, and he quietly frets at the thought of her not being cured. Not being able to see... he can't imagine it, or how she must be feeling. For people like themselves who thrive on that sense, it's a huge blow.

But Ginko's not one to mince words - he probably wanted her to be prepared for a potentially long and rough night.]

At least there's that. It'll be alright. [He says this firmly, tone unusually insistent] Ginko will help. He'd already cured me.

[She was going to tell Sanji she knew that - that she'd be fine - but then he said he'd already been cured.]

He cured you? What do you mean? Are you all right?

[And she can't see, darn it, but she'll be struggling to sit up and one hand flails out to try to make contact with Sanji's arm.]

[He offers his arm up without question, letting her grab hold if that's what she wants before continuing]

I'm fine now. But turns out even the flowers here are dangerous. [Damn, but that had been embarrassing]

[She does grab hold briefly, and squeezes the arm slightly as if to reassure herself that he is still here - he's fine. She drops her hand back down, not one for much clinging, even if the reassurance of another human presence feels so good.]

The flowers? What happened? Did they trap you somehow?

[Because she can think of a certain swamp...]

[A pause. Because now that he thinks about it... wow, he fails at life]

Ahah, you could say that. [Oh, how sheepish he sounds] I found some pink flowers growing in the forest and planned to bring a few back for Nami-san. After I smelled one, well... [another pause, thicker than the last]

To be honest, I don't remember much. Vash found me at some point -- [which is said with a dash of guilt that he tries to bite back] -- and there was the sensation of flying into the village.

Flying to the village? [...]

You don't - remember anything else?

Strange, huh?

[pausing again. That he doesn't remember anything is only part of the problem, but he's not sure he wants to weigh Katara's mind with any--

Oh hell, she'd find out somehow even if he pointed avoided the issue. Instinctively.]

I was going at a different pace than everyone else. A few minutes felt like weeks suddenly.

...I've heard of that before, but - this doesn't sound like it had to do with the spirit world.

[Pause.] But I don't think the spirits of my world have much to do with this place.

[It's almost an uncharacteristically negative statement - except she doesn't look at it that way, as much as she does with just - a sharp delineation of fact.]

Heh. [glances down at his hands] That mushi's lifespan is a day. So I guess I would've died at night.

... The entire time it felt like I was rushing to my death. [And leaving everyone behind him. He hated that more than anything, and it might be audible in his somber tone. This is a strange way to realize how deep an impression it left. He momentarily feels bad about bringing this up. Okay topic change!]

But you've heard of it, huh? I don't suppose your spirit world has anything to do with mushi.

[...dying? That mushi would have - killed him? Once again, her hands fist in the covers and she instinctively opens her eyes a crack - bad idea, even under the compress. Her body goes tense, but she manages to muffle the quick intake of breath that accompanies it.]

You're not a mushi. It had no right to do that - to bind its life to yours.

[Anger is so much more comfortable than fear - and after a moment she says:] No - I don't think mushi are like spirits. Spirits have a purpose, and they interact with the world and with people for that reason. Mushi are more like animals. Part of the world - but not like us.

[Damn straight it didn't. He can't help but grin at Katara's pointed words. They do make him feel a little better]

Maaah... It's not an experience I'm eager to try again. I think I scared Nami-san.

[He will... not bring up Ginko drugging him so he'd stay still]

.... Katara-chan, can you see them? [he never got a chance to ask]

[I can't see anything right now.

Really, it's a miracle that she manages to catch those words before they leave her mouth, but swallowing them leaves a bitter taste.

She's so scared, and she hates the reminder of it.]

No - I can't see them. Roku can, though.

[He almost goes off on a tangent about them... but holds back at the last moment. It probably sounds like a swallowed breath, and the silence trails for a moment.

He's not so insensitive to talk about them, when the things are swimming behind her eyelids.

So he switches topics instead, seemingly abruptly, trailing back to something that had caught his attention upon entering her room]

Katara-chan? Were your floors always stone? [It doesn't bother him - just seems strange when he's used to the wooden bases of his own house]

[Huh. It sounded like he was about to say something, but she's just distracted enough by his change in topic to move along.]

Huh? No. Sokka redid Toph's room first, and when we saw how well it worked, I asked Roku and [here's a hesitation here, and the next name comes out curiously flat] Zuko to help him redo the whole house.

[Oh spirits, quick, a topic change.] Tearing up the floorboards was kind of sad, they were very pretty, and we didn't have anything like that back home. But this works a lot better for her.

[He can't see your eyes, but he can certainly read your tone. And he blinks in surprise at the lack of emotion associated with Zuko's name]

I see. Maaah, that was nice of you guy--

[Stopping. Thinking backing. Toph's entry, the one he was a bit too distracted to answer on. It slipped his mind at the time, but he remembers her being upset at Zuko.

... So that's it. In a quiet tone]

He went back home. [Damn. It's just one thing after another for her]

[Hearing it stated like that - it's like ripping open a wound. She hasn't been so occupied with her eyes that she's forgotten. And in the chorus of voices speaking to her in their concern, the ones that are missing ring loudly.

Even though it doesn't make any difference, she turns her head away. Her voice is choked.]

Yesterday.

[Only a day. His gaze drops to the floor, unsure if he wants to continue down this line or not.

Those left behind are always caught in-between guilt and hurt]

How are you guys coping? [How are you coping? He can guess but he feels he knows Katara somewhat well - Well enough to surmise she might feel better if she talks.

If he's wrong, he'll find out soon enough]

[The laugh she gives is bitter, and has entirely too much of a resemblance to a choked sob for anyone's taste. And after it releases, she turns her face back towards Sanji because - confrontation is more her style than avoidance.]

We haven't exactly had much time to cope. Toph was - [scared, hurt] - upset, Sokka went into his quiet place, Roku... I think he feels more lost than ever and I--

[miss him].

... You?

He was my friend. [That last word is wrenched out of her, and it opens the floodgates.]

I don't know how it happened - or even - but it did. And now he's gone. And Aang's gone. And everything's all wrong.

[a sympathetic sigh]

... It's never right when the group's split up. [they're not his words, exactly, but he can recall the look on his captain's face when Zoro returned home the first time. And while Sanji didn't completely agree, he at least understood]

[Mute, she shakes her head.

There's nothing she can say that will make this right, and there's nothing she can say that will make it better-

-and she won't make it worse. So for now she won't say anything at all.]

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[Action, Voice ] .020

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