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

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

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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Heh.]

I don't think Katie's the sort to get that insulted that easily.

[Yes, they've been in the same room for less than five minutes, and Katara is already taking up an Opposing Point.

...and then she's distracted, because seeing him up close like this... he looks different than he did in Luceti - sure, a slightly different styled beard, but it's not just his face, it's... his... well, it's hard to place, but--] How old are you now?

You'd be surprised, Sis. She's really touchy.

[She is not. Not even a little. Katara's position is correct. ]

Twenty two! Time shenanigans, you know how they are.

So you're four years older than I am?

[Her voice rises a little incredulously at the end of that sentence.

This is wrong. This is wrong in every way.]

[His smile turns considerably more smug, as he reaches out to pat her head. ]

Yup. You really are my baby sister now.

[He probably gets like, one pat in, before she reaches up to bat his hand away with a scowl.]

You wish. You might be twenty-two, but we both passed into marrying age years ago. No one's a baby here.

[Except (her glower says:) that she will totally make you cry like one if you pat her head again.]

[One pat still counts as a VICTORY, He laughs, pulling his hand away. ]

True! And um, actually, on that point. The marrying point? There is something you should probably know.

[Record scratch.

She gives him an incredulous, searching look.]

Are you married?

[And you're only mentioning this now? She's going to kill you.]

[His eyes widen as he puts his hands up before she drops some Sisterly Doom upon him. ]

No, no no, I'm not. But there is a girl. Uh, in my life. Kind of? It's complicated, but I really like her a lot.

Oh.

[Then you get to... not die.

Good.

Okay.]

What's her name?

[She should smile, right? She should smile. It just seems - wow, okay, this is something really big that happened to him and she wasn't here, and he's calling it 'complicated' and so...]

[He lives to see another day! ]

Looma Red Wind. She's the princess of a people called the Tetramands. [He smiles, genuinely happy.] She's really strong, and has helped so many people we've come across here. She's got that tough never give up attitude. After Allen left, she's probably the best friend I have here.

[...heh. Sokka and princesses.]

That's really nice, Sokka. [A smile, even.] I'll look forward to meeting her. I want to hear all about her, and what happened here, and at home...

[...but also:] Who's Allen?

[It's a sickness. This one ALSO totally died in a self-sacrificing way, but she at least came back as flesh and blood. ]

I'll tell you everything you wanna know, and she'd love to meet you, too, I'm sure.

He was my first mate, Riona took over after he left. He'd been here from the first day of the whole Fleet thing, which is crazy, and he'd been in some weird magical castle kidnapping world before then. He went home. [The fallen smile and tone suggest that wasn't a GREAT outcome for Allen, at all. ] But he taught me a lot about Earth and stuff. He was a great friend.

[ Sadness flickers over her face for a moment. ]

It's hard when other people go home, even if it's a good thing for them.

[ It's worse when it's not.

She's lost so many people... and last time, it was you. It's hard to believe this is happening. She wonders what's happening with her friends in Luceti right now, if she's 'still there', or if they think she went home. ]

It wasn't a good thing. His world sucked. He was an exorcist, so kind of a demon hunter, but...more complicated than that. He was a good guy, you would have liked him. In fact, I know that as true, because you liked him when you were here before.

[Which...she doesn't remember but those are just details. ]

[That's still a little strange to hear about, but she's getting used to the idea that she was here and forgot.

Still - who he's describing... Katara's eyes narrow in thought.]

...did he have a scar on one side of his face?

[WELP. ]

Y-es. Are you- did you meet him, too? Allen Walker?

[A sudden grin, because yeah, she knows that name.] I did! When I first came to Luceti. He's the one who gave me this. [Her hand goes to a glass bracelet that has been expanded to fit around her upper bicep. There is water in the glass.]

[Small, creepy worlds. He grins. ]

That's so cool! He never mentioned that place, so I guess he forgot it, but that sounds like him. Finding new ways to help people. He ran a blood drive while he was here, to make sure everyone had the supplies they needed.

[ At Sokka's enthusiastic response, Katara abruptly decides not to tell him about the circumstances of the gift unless he asks. He doesn't need that right now. ]

He's been gone for at least two years, so... I don't really know how any of this works. Why people keep coming to different places and forgetting... [ Her brow furrows for a moment. ] But he was a very kind person, I thought.

[ She wonders how many other people they both know... separately. This whole thing was so weird. ]

The forgetting thing is the worst part, I think. It's really cruel. Letting some people remember them, having these strangers knowing who they are not them not having a clue.

[He's not a fan. ]

He is really good, though. Great guy.

[He wouldn't even want to TRY to guess that. ]

[ It was. It was so hard. She hadn't ever been on this side of it before, but she has a lot more empathy for Toph and Zuko than she had before.

So she moves to hop onto the kitchen counter. ]

Alright. Tell me everything. [ Here. At home. Everything. ]

[A laugh escapes him.]

What, like everything everything? 'Cause we might be here for a while.

[ Hmm... a good point. Still. Okay. ]

Okay. Then tell me three important things, two good things, and one sad thing. [ Because... those were important too. ] About here or about home. And we can talk more later, but I really do want to catch up.

Okay, I think I can do that.

[He considers. Home...well, home is a mess, and he thinks everything that went down in the South Pole should probably be avoided for a while. Katara didn't take any of it well there, so there's no way she'd take it well here. ]

Good thing? We found Zuko's mom, she was alive. She had to go into hiding, but we found her and brought her back to the Fire Nation. Zuko's even got a little half sister.

[That, of course, has some Bad Things attached to it, as most things in their world doe,s but he doesn't expunge on that just yet. ]

Good thing? I managed to get on the best ship in the Fleet and you know, I actually really like it there. It's a good place, full of good people.

[This last one he speeds through quickly, on purpose. ]

Sad thing? I nearly died once when we were fighting a bunch of crazy cannibals because they nearly cut my arm off OKAY this was a fun sharing time!

Edited 2018-05-03 22:03 (UTC)

[Her eyes widened at that first thing - Zuko's mom was alive? Selfishly, the first emotion she felt break through numb surprise was loss, and anger. It wasn't fair. That was something they'd had in common, the very first thing - and now that was gone. And it wasn't fair that it was his mom that got to come back and not hers, it wasn't at all fair.

She should be happy for him. Part of her was. But mostly she was just -- angry.

Fortunately, Sokka distracts her almost immediately. In this state, she doesn't really care about the ship he's on, although that's good news. But 'nearly die' and 'nearly cut an arm off' were - well, it was a relief that it didn't happen, it wasn't really shocking considering he'd died on her in Luceti - once, he'd come back quickly enough to cheat the death penalty, but the second time... the second time...

She immediately slides off the counter and approaches him, brows furrowed with concern.] Which arm? When did this happen?