markofthebrave | [ Action, Voice ] .021

[ Action, Voice ] .021

Hey, Caesar! Do you mind if I stop by this afternoon? [Because mind or not, she is coming. But before she gets there, if you asked after her while she had eye-mushi and she hasn't spoken to you yet, she's looking for you. She will be all about town, since she doesn't know where some of you live. She also plans on checking in with Sokka and the rest of the Gaang at some point today.]

[And later in the evening, after dinner and far past when she is usually fast asleep, you can find Katara practicing not far from her house. Since Ginko died she's been robbed of her rest - combine that with the draft list being posted and she's decided to cope the only way she knows how - by using the time to find some peace. For that purpose, she is doing a special form. She runs through the first without doing any bending at all. When she repeats it, she bends thin tendrils of water up and around and over, following the movements of her hands - and when one catches her eye she freezes it in place, creating a small practice area of frozen arches and swirls.

They won't last long, especially not in the heat of a summer night. That's not the point. That's not the point at all.]

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Of course I did. [Caesar pulls up a chair at the table and sits down across from her. He probably isn't aware of how obviously tired he looks, but his mood's been better lately, at least.] Why wouldn't I?

[She looks at him with utter seriousness and responds:] Platypus bears.

[Then she smiles and glances over to the bakery windows.] Did you want to get something? You look like you could use it.

[He raises an eyebrow at her.] I see you were expecting something that I wasn't!

[Caesar shakes his head at her question.] Not now. But I want to look around before I leave.

Sokka told me about Hugo. [She reaches forward to impulsively touch his hand.] I'm sorry.

H-huh? [He's almost taken aback by this. Considering Jacques asked for Hugo over the journals, it wasn't surprising that people found out so soon, but...] Uh... No, it's okay. It happens to everyone eventually, I guess.

Yeah. [She pulls back and glances down. And then she says it out loud:] Zuko's gone too.

I see. Seems like a lot of people have disappeared recently. [And then, it occurs to him that that's not exactly a comforting thing to say. He's never been good with these sorts of things.] Ah... Sorry.

[A half of a shrug.] Don't be. It's true.

[Amazing what eye-mushi can do to a person's perspective. She misses Zuko, though, misses him with a persistence that surprises her. And she misses Hugo too, and Ginko and-

-She takes a loud sip from her lemonade.]

[It's obvious that there's a lot on her mind. This was going to be awkward, but she did ask to talk to him, so he should probably try and be helpful somehow.]

Did you wanna talk about it?

[She blinks. Was he - did he think that's why she wanted to talk to him? Aww, that's so sweet. She smiles a little and shrugs one shoulder.]

What's to talk about? None of us belong here. It's good for them that they get to go home, and hurts us because we're stuck here without them. There's nothing wrong with feeling all mixed up about that.

[But... apparently, she does have more to say.] It's just... hard. Because when we get home, none of us will remember Luceti. So, when we go... that's it. It's like all of this didn't happen.

Edited 2010-06-25 17:10 (UTC)

Not necessarily. It's rare, but there are people who remember this place, while others think of it only as a dream. Even if the odds are against us, though... We can still hope that we'll remember. [That's all he can do, anyway, because he really doesn't want to forget any of this.]

[There are actually a few things she wouldn't mind forgetting about this place - about Zuko in particular, and she glances down and to the side, coloring slightly under the summer tan she's acquiring. But for the rest - that's one of the things that she hates most about this place - nothing matters.]

That would be good, I think.

[He nods. He knows this isn't why she called him, though. It's not like he has anywhere urgent to be, especially with his brother recovering just fine. There was no hurry at all, but... Well. Maybe he's just curious.]

So. Something else on your mind?

Yeah. I saw that you were drafted...

[How to bring this up - she's not actually sure what she wants to say either. Just - some more information would be good.]

Indeed. [He pauses, leaning back a bit in his chair and stretching his arms. He wasn't exactly thrilled about it, especially after what happened with his brother, but at least it wasn't him that had to go this time.] Not really looking forward to it. Still, there are people counting on me, so I'll have to do my best.

What is it... you're planning to do, exactly? [Because, man, she's seen you and she knows you can't fight worth a wet paper bag. She knows he's a strategist... but for that to work, he has to have people who'll follow him. And Hugo's gone. And it will take more than a name that no one here really knows to get people to listen to what he has to say.]

Be more specific. Strategy-wise?

So that's what you plan on doing when you get out there - do you know if they'll let you stay behind, or if they'll expect you to be out fighting as well?

I'm not the only noncombatant going along for the ride. I doubt any of us will have the opportunity to "stay behind." We might be able to use those 'rest areas' that were pointed out on the map, and if that's so, we can use them as bases of sorts. If we can't, we'll simply have to find somewhere else to organize ourselves. That will be as close to "staying behind" as anyone's going to get.

It isn't customary for a strategist to be on the battlefield himself. If it's necessary for me to do my work, I'll have no choice. However, I shouldn't need to be that close to the action at all.

...I see. [Throwing those who can't fight in the middle of a battlefield - it's a danger to everyone. Did the Malnosso have no sense at all?]

Someone will need to guard those 'rest stops' if that's where all the noncombatants are going to hold up.

Of course. Those areas will stand out in a place like this. Though the Third Party has already wiped out most of the people who were there, once they know we're around, there's a chance they may try attacking those places again. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that those would be incredibly useful, especially for an army of our size. Of course, that assumes that these guys are intelligent. Or that we use these places at all.

...I guess we'll just have to see who else ends up out there. It might be possible for some of the magic users here to just make a shield. That way, we wouldn't have to worry.

But I don't even know how this works - I remember last time, people were staying in some sort of... inn. But how were they transported to the battle? Did they even get to choose who they'd be dropped off with?

That's right. Something like that would be pretty useful. But that's exactly why we can't make any definite plans until we know everyone who'll be going with us.

It's up to the Malnosso to get us there, I guess. Initially, everyone was transported to the battlefield at the same time, and at the same place. I don't think they return us to those rooms whenever they feel like it, though - I remember them saying that if we needed assistance, we'd have to call for it via the journals ourselves. Once we're recovered, I'll bet they'll send us back to the battlefield as soon as they can, too.

...so first we're dropped off in the middle of a battlefield, then we're expected to find a way to fall back and make some sort of defensible area so that people can rest? We can't just fight straight for days.

[She sighs and shakes her head, more convinced than ever that the Malnosso don't know what they're doing.] That's a good way to get a lot of people hurt.

You make it sound like that's entirely unheard of. [He tilts his head a little.] That's what war is sometimes.

Anyway, it's our choice whether or not we want to take advantage of what the Malnosso have to offer. We have the option to ask for their help when we need it or stick it out and try to recover on our own. I feel it would be best to ask for the Malnosso's help if someone does need the assistance, however. The truth is, they're doing quite a bit to accommodate us. They're willing to provide for us almost anything that we ask for, and they're even willing to tend to those who become wounded or fatigued. Considering there aren't going to be many of us out there in the first place, it would be foolish to ignore what the Malnosso are offering.

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