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[Nami's had quite enough of sleeping. It's kind of disconcerting to be told it's now September, and it doesn't help that she's spent the time since Ling's rude wake-up call still sleeping most of her day away. So tired, all the time. Prone to falling asleep mid-shower, and that is annoying, to say the least.
Oh, well. A week has gone past and she can finally get through most of the day with no problems, so Nami takes advantage of the fact that there is no Chopper to tell her otherwise (and no Katara or Law at the house at the time) to sneak up to the orchard and see how it's fared in her near-two-month absence.
...huh. Been hot lately, she sees. And a lot less mikan up here than she was expecting. Nothing too alarming, and the place seems okay otherwise, pinwheels and all. Someone even fixed her cottage door, lookit that.
Welp. Observant villagers might see the low-lying rainclouds to the northeast of the village, a tiny little storm that barely covers an acre. It's too hot today anyway, may as well take advantage of the fact that she can cheat.]
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Thanks, whoever fixed my door. Did you take some of the fruit as payment or should I blame someone else for that?
[Tell her what she's missed, Luceti.]
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You can't help how other people feel about you, and how they feel shouldn't obligate you to do anything for them. Don't laugh at them, by all means, but... it isn't your fault or your problem.
They're still your friends, right?
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You think I don't know that?
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[Like the deaths that take place here. You know they're coming back. And you still grieve.]
I can know that it's not my fault, that I shouldn't have to do anything in order to make them happy, but that doesn't stop me from looking and seeing that they're hurting, that they want something from me I can't give.
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...it's something that wouldn't have bothered her at home. Their friendship here is a lot closer, isn't it?]
Are we just talking about Aang and Masaomi?
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Why? I shouldn't be worrying about anyone else, right?
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No. We have an understanding.
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Yeah, though I'm sure he makes a good target.
[What with how quickly he'd healed and all.]
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...anything I can do where the others are concerned?
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[It was about before she could think. And instantly she wanted to take it back. But Nami's been gone for a long, long time. That wasn't her fault, but Katara couldn't help reflexively recoiling when someone makes her an offer they can't keep, especially if it comes down to an issue of whether or not she can depend on them when she needs them.
And even when Nami was here, Katara felt that she was dealing with so much that adding to it would only making things worse for both of them. How many times had Nami's closest friends been in life or death situations - been killed - in the past year alone? It wasn't fair to add any more on to that.
Which was why she immediately scrambled for purchase.]
I mean, I know you'd probably want to be, when you're here. And I know it's not your fault when you're not - none of it is. But it's not that easy.
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You think I don't know that? [It's a soft reproach, deliberately mimicking Katara's from earlier. But if there was any sting meant there, it's lost in the deep unhappiness of Nami's frown.]
Nobody will ever be there for you all the time. We're all at the beck of call of this place and a bunch of jerks who think it's funny to make us fall in love at the drop of a hat. But... we all do our best to be there for each other, right? There's times...
[She breaks off, because that's a larger subject.]
Maybe I can't be. And I know you won't hold that against me, ever. But I'm here now. And as much as I can be. If I'm here, I'll never turn you away.
You do your best with what you've got, Katara.
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[Did you meet my son? Did you even know I had one? Two, actually, and a daughter. Apparently I name her after my mother. Did you know that? Because we didn't see each other that whole time, did we.]
...it's just different. And sometimes venting doesn't do anything other than make things worse.
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That last part was aimed at you, actually. [She's quiet.] Friends are there for each other as much as they can be, but none of us is perfect.
If you don't want to talk about it with me, that's fine. But I can't even try to be there for you unless I know what's going on.
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She smiles faintly.]
I appreciate that.
But I'd rather you did just that, because I would much rather do what I can to help my friends then just stand by and watch them hurt. If we're all hurting at the same time, well... that's just the way things are, you know? [Her smile takes on a small wry quirk.] At least we can do that together.
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Yeah.
[She pauses to think about that for a moment.]
How about we make a deal? If we ask each other what's going on, that means we're able to hear more, no matter what else has happened. And if they're our own secrets, then we'll share. Deal?
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Deal.
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Okay.