[ Action, Voice ] .024

[markofthebrave]

[Tomorrow. Tomorrow is tomorrow. Today, she has plans.]

Hey, Winry - do you still want to go get pizza today? I can make it for lunch, but... I can't hang out the whole day.

[She will also be making a point to visit her friends today, specifically the Straw Hat House. She wants to check in on Sanji, now that she knows what's happened to him, say goodbye to Nami... and she has a feeling Ginko will be there as well. If not, she'll try to contact him over the journal.

She also needs to stop in the item's shop. Being given a gift from the water of the river of light... Katara wants to find something similar to the container she used for the spirit oasis water so that if they get out there and she needs it, she'll have it.

The chances are good that she is also going to make a token effort to track down Buffy. She's heard enough about the last fight that she knows what happened there, and she wants to ask a few questions before heading out there - and she wants to hear about how this same mysterious Third Party General had died. It was the mystery that was bothering her - not knowing what they were really going up against or why they were really doing this. If she could talk to someone who'd fought them before, then maybe, maybe... the feeling of being used wouldn't be as strong and she'd be able to focus on what was really important.

She thinks about going over Caesar's house as well, but decides that a journal message will be good enough. He's probably busy preparing - or sleeping. And she had a feeling he wouldn't be able to do as much of that as he'd like, once they got out there.]

[Filtered Voice 90%]

Hey, Caesar. Ready for this?

[After her various conversations, she goes back home to make dinner and she, Sokka, and Toph have a surprisingly normal meal before slipping out a little earlier than normal for her accustomed practice time. She's not sure why they're going out to fight or why the 'why' bothers her so much - and she's a little scared, strung tense with nervous energy. The forms are soothing and precise and tonight there is just that extra edge, just that smallest bit of ruthless passion that gives away just how strongly the drums of her fathers beat within her - this is about war. And war is something Katara knows very well.

But when the sun starts to set she takes a break and takes a seat, watching it go down not thinking about very much at all. It's beautiful.]

Comments

[herotypical]

Exactly. That's why I'm content to fight these bas--guys. They choose their side and that side involves wanting us dead.

[But, on to more helpful matters:] They've got some strong mojo. They can use their blood, almost like a weapon. And at least...the General knew way too much about me and my style before we even met.

[markofthebrave]

[Serious ping here.]

What do you mean, use their blood?

[herotypical]

It's called Shifting, I guess. A special kind of magic or...or ability that they have. Kinda like the experiments, only localized. The General was able to control his own blood--make it into ice, whip it around.

[markofthebrave]

[Oh. That's not so bad.]

It's just with their own blood, right? And only if they're already wounded?

[herotypical]

I think. I mean, I didn't exactly come back without a scratch. There was a lot of blood on the ground, but most of it was his. And he didn't really start with the mumbo-jumbo until he'd spilt a bunch.

[markofthebrave]

[She nods.] It's a good idea, but if you're stuck using your own blood like that you've got to already be pretty weakened, if it's enough blood to be any kind of serious threat.

How else did they fight? Did they ever go on the ground?

[Because she's kind of got a blind friend here who can see through her feet.]

[herotypical]

The General spent a lot of time on the ground--but, then again? I spent a lot of the time with my scythe in his leg. Kind of a kill-joy on the flying front.

[markofthebrave]

[A quick almost-smile.] Yeah, I guess it would do that.

Were they harder to hurt than regular people? I mean, there are some people here who can just - absorb whatever you do to them. They weren't like that, right?

[herotypical]

[Buffy hisses a soft, hesitant breath.] I'm not going to lie to you, Katara. These guys could be ubertough. I'm not exactly normo-girl myself, and it wasn't a picnic. I'm one of those absorbers, too.

[And yet she's only five-three.]

[markofthebrave]

[Well, that's not good. But that's why she's asking. She wants to know what she's up against.] When I fought against Aku, there wasn't anything I could do to hurt him. He could just - pass right through things. Was it like that? Or is it more like fighting someone who's made out of metal, so you have to do it again and again before you can cut through.

[herotypical]

It's more like...[she trails off. Is this Katara girl of the normal, squishy human kind? Buffy really has know way to know. Not unless--huh.

She comes to a stop and turns towards Katara. The Slayer drops the axe to the ground and opens her arms wide.]

Hit me. Hitting one of them is probably going to be similar to hitting me. Their physical stats seemed pretty darn close to vamp levels of stamina and endurance.

[markofthebrave]

What? No! [She shakes her head.] No way.

[herotypical]

[She looks as though she might argue. But, no. Buffy shrugs and drops her arms. She stoops to grab the axe.]

Look, they're cuttable. But it takes some strength to do it. But you don't have to worry about them being magically invincible.

[markofthebrave]

...when he used his blood on you like a whip, did it cut you?

[herotypical]

I ended up with broken ribs, but surprisingly few wounds. So...no. That didn't happen.

[She sighs.] A hint, though? Go for the wings. That's your best bet.

[markofthebrave]

[She nods.] That's the plan. They'll have a hard time flying with frozen wings, and if someone follows up on that and shatters the ice...

[herotypical]

How exactly do you propose to freeze them?

[markofthebrave]

I'm a waterbender. [She pulls a bit of the water out of the waterskin on her back and lets it circle around in her hand.] I 'bend' water, and I can change it from water to mist [she does, and the mist chases itself around in her hand] to ice [and it turns to ice, hovering above her hand before turning back into water and streaming neatly back into her waterskin along with her hand as she caps it again.] It's how I fight.

[herotypical]

That's--[she watches the water with a slack jaw.] That's pretty neato. Kinda like what the Third Party can do themselves, y'know? Just...less gross with the blood and stuff. [Buffy frowns.] Does blood count as water? Maybe that's what their doing?

[markofthebrave]

[Katara can't help but be pleased at the obvious appreciation from a fellow fighter - especially one who's already proved herself here.]

I can bend anything with water in it - soup, perfume... and when blood is outside the body, yeah, I could stop them from using it like a weapon. But I'd be surprised if they were actually bending it - no one else I've talked to has bending in their world. And to use blood like that...

[Bleck.]

[herotypical]

Yeah. It's pretty much unanimous. Blood's gross. [She pulls a face. But this reminds her:] In your world...have you got vampires?

[markofthebrave]

[Katara's not as much grossed out by blood itself as she is disturbed at the thought of using it as a weapon. She told Buffy the truth - outside the body, it's like everything else... Katara doesn't want to think about the ways that she can use it inside a body. And it's a full moon tonight. But the 'I am trying not to brood and make comparisons' thought process she had going on was completely derailed at Buffy's question.]

Vampires? No. Are they like werewolves?

[herotypical]

Kinda, in that they're both creepy supernatural bumps in the night. [A small shrug.] But vampires are creepier by far. Demons who take over the bodies of the dead and chomp down on human blood pretty much nightly.

[markofthebrave]

[...Okay. That sounds horrible.]

How do you stop them? Are they here too?

[herotypical]

You enlist the help of a Slayer. [She jabs a thumb at herself.] And then I'll stake the thing. Turn it to dust. There are two vampires from my world here. One of them's dangerous, and the other's kind of a rare case of good guy vamp. There are others, from other worlds. They're mostly just confusing.