driftfleet | (no subject)

[Katara nods, but there's a new thread of interest here. Former partner? Do they have partners in the army in his world?]

I see. And your - former partner? Is that from your time in the military?

[She's trying to keep it on his history and not on the partner him/her/itself, because she saw that face, she's just trying to piece things together.]

No, no - we were in the army together, but he was stateside, I was overseas. [there it is, there's the sullen look that's usually on his face] We, uh . . . we dated for a few years. That's why I'm still close to his sister.

"Former partner" sounds less interesting than "ex-boyfriend".

Oh. [Yeah, awkward. Katara shakes her head.] Well, we don't have to talk about that, if you don't want to. Besides, we're almost at the grocery store -- still up for ice cream and a long story?

I'm still up for ice cream and the long story. [not even his grumpy ass can turn down ice cream]

There isn't much to talk about anyway. [which is a big ol' lie but details] You can ask if you want.

[Well... you're still seeing his sister, and now you're here, and there's no way that even her massive 'fix everything for everyone' skills/compulsion can do... anything about that. So why dredge it up?

But still, since he said she could ask, she's not going to turn that down. So she pauses in front of the grocery store to look at Ben directly and offer him a wry, sympathetic smile.] I guess if I was going to ask you anything, I'd ask if you were okay. But considering we're here... [a shrug] I don't really know how you can answer that.

[Because that was the important thing. She'd dig more into those parts of his pasts on longer acquaintance, maybe. Those parts of her own heart are way too raw right now to talk about, so even though he says it's fine... she's gonna wait.]

[there is a hell of a lot more to it than that, but - going into all of it brings up memories he'd rather not, and wouldn't that be a first impression; having to walk away and find space to clear his head because he got too much into shit still itching at the back of his mind]

I'm fine. [for now] Still in one piece, right? Haven't malfunctioned too much, either. Can't really complain about that, can I?

Heh. Yeah, that's about all anyone can say. ["Fine" was not "all right", but what else can be said about this, really?] C'mon, let's get some ice cream.

[And, giving him a small smile, she turns to head into the store.]

[it isn't but it has also moved the topic onto the ever important ice cream and that's a plus. He follows her into the store, pausing to glance around - just to be safe]

Think they got crazy alien flavors?

[Katara, sadly, does not pause, nor does she overly note his. That kind of observation in 'neutral' areas has not been part of her training or experience.]

Maybe? It's all alien to me - we don't have ice cream in my world. [Do de do, walking toward the freezer aisle.] I'm probably just going to get vanilla. Or maybe they have an interesting fruit one?

[She's not really a sweets person, but the cool air conditioning after walking outside is amazing and she is looking forward to eating ice cream outside, the contrast will be worth it.]

[he isn't subtle about it, but the casual leans to peek down an aisle before walking past are done as if this is how he normally acts.

Which . . . well, it is how he normally acts. But he has his hands shoved in his pocket, so it's less overt than it would be were he by himself] You don't? That's gotta suck - do you have anything like it?

If you find vanilla I'll take that. I'm not a - fuck ton of different bullshit mixed into ice cream kind of guy.

[...fuck ton of different bullshit mixed...

It legitimately takes Katara a blink to even decipher what he means in that sentence.] Well, at home we make akutaq, but only when there's fruit available. And we had slushies when we were in the Earth Kingdom! Those were delicious. Just -- fruit and ice and honey.

[Looking for vanilla now in the various different containers.]

I don't know what the first thing is, but we have slushies. They're a staple of convenience stores everywhere. [and their taste varies depending on where you get them] Never had one with honey, though.

[he eventually wanders over proper, squinting into the freezers at what's available]

It's basically whipped fat with berries. [Shrug. Look, there is not much to eat in the South Pole besides meat, and occasionally some fruit during the warmer season. Gotta do what you can with it.] And the slushies were really good, but that might we were in the middle of a desert at the time...

[Opening the freezer door to pull out a pint.] This one looks good. It's got walnuts and a little bit of chocolate in it.

Yeah? What's it taste like? [it sounds interesting, to him at least, and he's curious] Slushies are good all around, though. Even in winter, no matter what anyone else says.

[he likes slushies. Curious, he reaches over her carefully to pull out a pint as well, squinting at the package to read what's in it] That doesn't sound too bad. THis looks exactly like something I"d pick up at the store back home.

[Katara steps out of his way so he can have more access to the ice cream.]

It's good! It's not as sweet as ice cream, but it's nice and smooth. But... not a lot of people like Watertribe cuisine. [A wry little smile and a shrug.]

Great! Do you want to look for bowls and spoons, then? I think we should sit in the shade outside.

Why not? I'd try it if I could. I like trying new food. [but he also has weird tastes so ymmv]

I think I saw utensils and shit over there - you go grab a spot, I'll grab the bowls. [and off he goes, heading down the aisle to circle around to the aisle he had in mind]

I dunno why - I guess stewed sea prunes are an acquired taste... [Shrug.] Alright, I'll see if I can get us some chairs.

[And off she goes outside to... a different store. She could have sworn -- yes! Folding chairs! Bringing them back out now to set up under an awning because shade is very important, and maybe she should look into getting a hat if they are going to be in this horrible desert much longer...]

Pretty sure regular prunes are an acquired taste, too, but I'd try it.

[finding the bowls and spoons is easy enough, and after a brief detour to another aisle, Ben emerges from the store with it all in a bag. He flops down into the chair next to Katara and sets the bag down in between them with a grunt]

There we go. Grabbed a couple of drinks too, just in case. Ever had a ice cream float?

[Katara speaks as she digs in the bag for the ice cream.] Oh - I think Buffy made one for me once? It seems really familiar, anyway -- soda and ice cream, right?

[Retrieving the pint, she begins to work off the lid.]

Yeah. Couldn't find any root beer, though. That's the best way to have it.

[in the bag, she will also find what he's pretty sure is the equivalent of soda, since he wasn't about to grab something alcoholic for a ki-young adult. He settles back in the chair while she does, squinting out across the road]

If this place didn't have such a creepy vibe, it'd remind me of some of the towns out where I lived. Minus the desert, too.

[Katara finishes taking out the -- oh, yay, soda! -- materials and then scoops herself two scoops of the ice cream in a bowl. She passes the pint over to him.]

What's familiar about it? The houses?

[he takes the ice cream and grabs his own bowl from the bag, then a spoon to scoop himself some]

Yeah, and the small town feel. Kinda place you can just walk anywhere? I didn't grow up in a town like this, but there were plenty around the area. You'd drive through and it was like the whole place was trapped in the past. Not nearly as modern as the places closer to the city or anything. Give this place a few older buildings and historical signs and it'd be the same thing.

Hmm... [She really has... no context for any of that. It's all so different.] The place this most reminds me of is Luceti. Before that, the largest place I'd ever been to was Ba Sing Se - and that was larger than this, and Luceti, but it was in the Earth Kingdom so at least it was home. My village was... small.

What's it got that it reminds you of that place? [he's curious, as he hasn't done this . . . going other places thing before, and that there were more of these places was interesting . . . a little bit]

Well... electricity, for one thing. All the food provided and replenished for you, for another. And the regenerative factor? Luceti had that too - when houses were destroyed, they'd be rebuilt the next day. The Malnosso did it with 'shifting'. [Frowning, so much frowning.] But this place isn't in a barrier, and there aren't any people here, and the droids are hardly capable of dragging anyone off against their will so...

[Contemplative bite of ice cream. Glancing at him when he was done and moving to stream a little bit of water out of her shiny new water bottle with the flip cap.] Oh, could you put the ice cream back between us when you're done?