[Action/Voice] Forward dated to the 19th

[mikangirl]

[Nami comes back to Luceti with a bang.

...literally.  Because the first indication of her arrival on the networks is her journal hitting a tree at high velocity.  The journal window won't pick up more than a whole bunch of dizzily swirling forest scenery and then a bare, reddened foot as she kicks it afterwards for good measure.  Then she just abandons it in the grass and stalks off.  Incredibly useful contribution to the journals, isn't it?  Sorry about that.

She's not really in any hurry to go home, and in no hurry to go announcing herself through town, but she is cold.  So after some indecision, she heads for the Avatar house instead, knocking hesitantly on the door in her New Feather dress in search of warmth and other things.

A little while later, having borrowed a coat and some shoes and feeling a little more herself, she heads for home, letting herself in quietly and... sort of standing there and listening for voices, noise, anything.  Then she'll come say hi.  Sort of.

Whether she stays there or not after that, who knows?  But she does eventually make a journal entry in the evening, borrowing someone else's.  She's not cruel enough to pretend she's not here when there are friends in town.]

[Voice]

Shirahoshi, are you still here?  I remember you, now.  Just thought I’d let you know.  

For everyone else... hi.  I'm back.  Again.  All that.  Business as usual, I guess.

[She sounds cheerful enough.  Just tired.]

Comments

[savedtheworld]

[He's going to just pretend that's an unconditional 'no'.]

That's good. We all know better than to steal something from a dear friend anyway, and Katara would only steal from bad pirates.

[mikangirl]

[Good man, Aang.]

Did she ever steal anything more? [SO CURIOUS.]

[savedtheworld]

Not really, at least not I can think of right now. ...Oh, the closest I can think of is one time when Toph got us all to pull scams on Fire Nation gamblers in a village! Katara was actually against us this time, but in the end she decided to help Toph for one last one. ...Except that one got them captured. But we got away okay!

[mikangirl]

[Excuse her Aang, Nami's just packed up laughing.]

[savedtheworld]

You're laughing? But that's not even the funny part...

[mikangirl]

Sorry, sorry! It's not that it's funny, it's-- well, it is but for-- [Handwavehandwave.] Go on.

[savedtheworld]

I'm actually not sure if I should tell this part. [Pause.] But you're a friend of Katara so maybe I should! Katara and Toph got locked in a wooden cell, so they didn't have anything to bend. But then, to get out Katara realized that... [He giggled a little.] she could bend her own sweat, so she did that to escape.

[He hadn't witnessed it in person, but hearing after the fact he could never be sure whether he found it hilarious, disgusting, creative or adorable in a way. Probably all four.]

[mikangirl]

Her own sweat?

[That sounds...


...revolting. '_' KATARA SHE THOUGHT YOU WERE A LADY.]

[savedtheworld]

Yep! Pretty smart, though. I bet most Waterbenders don't realize they can do that. I should try it for myself sometimes!

[mikangirl]

...that is pretty resourceful. [Disgustingness aside. She wonders if she can do anything with sweat. Ick. But. Yes.] I wouldn't recommend trying it around anyone you're trying to impress, though.

[savedtheworld]

Y-yeah, true. But I guess Katara would understand. Since she... already did it. Maybe she would be impressed, too. [But he quickly shakes his head.] But that's beside the point! Uh... What else is... new?

[mikangirl]

Not a lot. Half my crew is away right now. The orchard is going to be quiet until spring. I guess I have a lot of time to kill.

[savedtheworld]

I guess that explains why you're hanging around here! But... that's a good thing, right? For a change? Everything being... quiet. [It had almost been the same for them since recovering from the draft, although there was Aang's brief trip home and Suki's arrival to shake things up a bit.]

[mikangirl]

[It's too quiet. Nami tells herself it's only because Sanji and Zoro are away, but she knows better by now. Still, she smiles.] Well, I'll take quiet over the usual chaos around here.

[savedtheworld]

[Aang nods.]

Me too. It helps me to be able to spend more time with everyone and have lots of fun in different ways. It just hasn't been completely quiet, since - well, did you here that I kinda went home myself for a little while?

[mikangirl]

I did. Heard you came back pretty fast, too.

...was it jarring?

HOW DID I MISS THIS TAG I'M SO SORRY

[savedtheworld]

A - kinda. I was gone from here for so short, and I wasn't home for long, but... that kind of makes it weirder in a way. Remembering two different yesterdays at the same time. And - and getting used to people being different all over again.

SOB YOU DON'T LOVE ME EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE LIKE FIVE OTHER THREADS OR SOMETHING

[mikangirl]

No, I think I get you on that. I have the same kind of thing happening with me. It makes it hard to adjust, doesn't it?

I AM A MONSTER

[savedtheworld]

Yeah, it does. But I guess in some ways, maybe it's better to see... to see the differences so sharply, so soon.

A TERRIBLE MONSTER

[mikangirl]

...puts things in perspective a bit?

[It's only half a question.]

[savedtheworld]

Yeah, I guess so! Seeing that people like... like Katara - that they're not exactly the same here as they are when I last saw them, at home. Having two yesterdays, it also means having two most recent times of seeing someone.

[mikangirl]

[Yyyeah. That has to be pretty rough. For both of them, really.]

How much earlier than you is Katara?

[savedtheworld]

A little more than a year. From before the war ended. Ah- And before... things changed for us. [A quiet, uncertain pause.] She lived here for years instead.

[mikangirl]

Luceti changes people. [The words are soft, weighted in understanding. But all the same, a fact is a fact. It's not fair on either of them, but there's nothing that can be done that isn't a gross violation of someone's rights somewhere along the line.]

She cares a lot about you.

[Too much has changed, she thinks. And this isn't hte first time she's had Aang come to Luceti... but none of that is really her place to say.]

[savedtheworld]

[They did have that talk ago, just a few months ago. When Ikki had gone home. About changes. And how he should see her for who she is here... instead of letting who she became at home influence the way he saw her. It's the only way they could have anything here. Nevermind whatever the results of the date with Masaomi which should have happened before this I think timeline-wise

He gives her a soft smile.]

I know.

And... I also know that even if it's not in the same way, that much is one thing this place can't change.