.01 [ action | video ] have we lost our way back home

[watermarks]

Who: Katara and you!
Broadcast: Video, from the Marsiva
Action: Action on the Marsiva and then then post!Shuffle on the Vanquish
When: Friday, 3/23

[Katara wasn’t always a heavy sleeper, but she never did enjoy waking up. It was a slow process, even here, as if her subconscious had already registered the wrongness of where she was and was well on its way to the land of Denial.

Eventually, though - her eyes opened. And she stayed very, very still as fear replaced sleep in an adrenaline spike sharp enough to make her stomach heavy. Okay. Okay. She still had her bending, in fact, that was at full force for the first time since the last draft, she can feel water in a distant room. But these lights… those walls… that… well, actually, she kind of likes the music, but she can’t -- this is definitely not…

And then she feels it - or she doesn’t feel it - and she forgets her caution and bolts upright, straining her head to take a closer look at her back.]

[She doesn’t expect a response, but she does get up out of the bed and glance around. Her balance is off when she moves, so she takes careful, deliberate steps, as she takes stock of what she has and doesn’t have and exactly where everything is in the room and pauses as the fact that there is music seeps in. What... what is going on here?

But that’s nothing when she spots the viewing bay. She pauses, transfixed for a moment, and then walks very carefully over to the window. She places one hand against it and whispers:] ...there are stars.

[As she spends more time on the Marsiva, she’ll explore the food and take advantage of the exercise equipment, doing what she can to try to get her balance to where it should be without the added (useless; she tells herself she’s glad they’re gone) appendages.]

[ Video Broadcast while on the Marsiva ]
[Serious blue eyes peer out in stark contrast to dark skin as a girl of about eighteen addresses the fleet.]

Hello, my name is Katara. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe, but I've spent the past four years [Had it really been that long? Her expression flickers for a moment.] in a place called Luceti. I understand a... lot of basic information about this place from the augment, but I'm sure there's more to this place than just what is implanted in our heads by our captors.

[Frowning, angry at that, needing to take a visible breath before she can continue.] I'd appreciate any additional information you feel it's safe to give out over these things. And... [Her gaze drops for a moment before she regains her composure and looks back at the camera.] ...if anyone knows the name Luceti, or has heard of the Southern Water Tribe, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know about that too.

[She manages a brief smile.] Thank you so much.


[Action on the Vanquish]
[Katara had been working on her balance on a make-shift balance-beam in the gym section of the Marsiva when she was suddenly teleported -- fortunately close enough to grab a wall. She bats at the confetti with a frown with her other hand as she straightens -- so this is the ‘shuffle’, huh?

The happy little jingle just makes her frown deepen. Jerks, playing with people like this… She gives a deeply exasperated sigh.

Hopefully no one is there to catch frustrated!Katara as their first impression; she will try to make a better second one by exploring the ship, sticking close to the walls, and looking to see who her new shipmates are with a pleasant smile on her face in a few minutes. Feel free to catch her walking around with a smile in a moment or two, but right now, she is having a few mental words with the Atroma and they are Not Nice.]

Comments

Marsiva!

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[Katara reenters the kitchen, needing to fill up her armband again, and she pauses when she sees the pale woman just... staring.

So the water becomes a secondary priority. She approaches slowly, her hands open at her side.] Excuse me... are you all right? Can I help you with something?

[therewerefifty]

[Good lord what are you using that water on

...Makie glances up at the sound of Katara's voice. A new person isn't a surprise-- the Marsiva seems to have brought in more than a few people this time.]

Oh. I'm sorry. It's been a while since I was here... [And she's not feeling the greatest.] I was going to make tea.

[And a moment later, she smiles wanly.] Would you like one?

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[It JUST KEEPS DISAPPEARING, she is super frustrated about it, but also: stubborn.

Katara's eyes widen at this information:] Oh, you were here before?

[But the New Source of Information shininess that is Makie is not quite enough for Katara to ignore that she... doesn't look so great.] I'd love to hear what you remember about that, [said a little shyly as she steps forward,] but you look like you've got a lot on your mind. I can make the tea, if you want to sit for a minute.

[therewerefifty]

[She recognises that diplomacy for what it is, and Makie smiles faintly. But she doesn't object, retreating a few steps to find the closest seat.]

Thank you.

...I was here for some time. There's much I'm still remembering, but I'll try. Did you want to know something in particular?

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[Katara moves to start making the tea; it's astonishingly easy, thanks to the augment, even though the device is foreign to her.]

I guess... just what to expect? What life is like here. [Not that she didn't want to try to find a way home or a way out, but if Luceti had taught her anything, it was that sometimes things took a long, long time to piece together. She'd need to know how to deal with one first so that she could continue to pursue the other.]

[therewerefifty]

It's...quiet, for the most part. [Things were very bad at the last from what she recalls, but the conversations she's had recently and the time she spent here before that mean it's kind of an outlier.]

We drift through space for weeks at a time until we reach our destination. Every month, a new place to explore. For the most part, the... planets we come to are nothing more than sightseeing for us.

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...and this is something people want to watch?

[This is so bizarre, in just about every way she can think of.]

[therewerefifty]

By their nature, people trapped together will react in interesting ways. I suppose that's of interest to some. And they take us to some beautiful places... but also some strange or dangerous places.

[She doesn't want to frighten a girl on her first day here. Unlike Nami, who just jumped right in.]

[watermarks]

[Grumbling, as she begins to put the tea into the mugs:] It still sounds to me like they've got something wrong with them. It'd be one thing if we were here because we were volunteers, but to watch a bunch of people who are trapped against their will... that's just sick.

[So much linefacing.]

[therewerefifty]

[Such grumbling is enough to make her smile, even just a fraction.]

No, I agree. They're terrible people. Though some people might like to be here, it shouldn't be by force.

[watermarks]

[A quiet noise of agreement, because Katara can recognize a Rant building up inside of her and she doesn't really want to unleash it on this poor woman.

Fortunately, water boils quickly in these electronic tea kettles, and Katara reaches over just in time to stop it from getting too hot. She removes the kettle from the base and pours their tea into the glasses.] No, it shouldn't be.

[...okay, apparently, she couldn't keep it all in. Anyway, she turns with the seeping tea to bring the cup over to Makie.] I'm Katara, by the way. What's your name?

[therewerefifty]

[Makie accepts the tea with a murmured thank you, cupping her hands around the mug to warm them.]

Otono-Tachibana Makie. [She inhales the steam.]

...Makie. [Let's spare you the tonguetwister.]

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[She got no similar mercy from Aang with "Pippinpaddleopsicopolis." D8 It's appreciated to know what to call her for many reasons, though, since different worlds and cultures say different names first and last, and Katara has gotten herself into trouble that way before.]

It's nice to meet you, Makie. [Katara turns back to get her own tea.] Where were you from before this?

[therewerefifty]

A place called Edo, Japan. Have you heard of it?

[Probably not, but she likes to ask.]

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Oh, Edo is in Japan? [Or - is Japan? Hadn't Manji said... hmm. But first, something more important!] I had some good friends who were from Japan. Masaomi - but, he was from a Japan with cars and skyscrapers [and by your outfit, she doesn't think you are, in fact it reminds her of nothing so much as... and her whole face softens a little:] and Ginko. He was a mushishi.

[A term Makie would probably recognize if they were from the same version of Japan, she thinks.]

[therewerefifty]

[Recognition lights her face.]

I've read history books for Japan. [It was one of the first things she did, trying in vain to find some mention of Kagehisa and his quest to reshape Japan.] Your friend Masaomi is likely from my future. Ochako-chan is from there also; she's a passenger here.

...I'm not familiar with mushishi. [Mushi-shi? Master of ...mushi? That doesn't narrow it down.]

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[She nods.] He's probably not from your version of Japan, then. That seems like it happens a lot with Earth countries.

[She doesn't recognize the name 'Ochako', but she understands what Makie is saying.] I met someone else on this ship from Edo. Manji. Do you know him?

[therewerefifty]

[At once, her expression turns wry. That's probably a yes, huh.]

I do, though not well. We are from the same place, but... we're not close.

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[YUP, Katara sees that expression. But after the outcome of her conversation with Manji, EVEN THOUGH HE CALLED HER A WITCH, she's able to focus on something else.]

He's... really concerned about getting back home. He wanted me to check with my brother to make sure time stops -- it does, right?

[Since, she's been here too, so she'd know.]

[therewerefifty]

Yes. In more ways than one. Nobody ages here.

[You're gonna be 18 forever, Katara.]

Did he say why he was so concerned?

[watermarks]

[She doesn't know if what Manji told her was confidential. It didn't seem like it. But if Makie didn't know, and they knew each other... Katara was uncertain about how much she should share.]

There was someone he had to protect. [She glances down at her tea, waiting for the steam to pass.] A girl. He was pretty upset about it.

[therewerefifty]

[She considers that a moment. Rin could very well be in trouble right at the last, but Manji doesn't remember the dock fight. And Rin was there.]

Perhaps I can reassure him in that regard, as well. [Manji is someone she offers respect to, but their personalities are like oil and water. But Rin, she has a soft spot for.]

Nothing will happen to her while he is here, certainly.

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That would probably be a good thing, if you can let him know. You know how it is when we first get to places like this... [No one is doing enough, nothing has ever been tried in order to get home, someone please show me the person I need to ice to a wall to fix all this, because surely it is Just That Simple.] ...and it's even harder to deal with if you're worried about something you have to do when you get home.

[therewerefifty]

I will see if he understands. [God knows it took her long enough to get her mind around this place. She remembers, suddenly, Leia walking in while she was staring helplessly at the showers.]

Did he give you any trouble?

[watermarks]

[He called me a witch!

But that was unimportant, really.] No, not really.

[She gives a small smile.] Thank you for asking, though.