markofthewise | Sokka the 26th

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Sokka the 26th - [Action]

[It's a busy couple of days at the smithy for Sokka. Aside from the huge playground order, which is keeping the place running all day long, he has a few other projects to work on. His own private supply of Batarangs (the boy has gotta have a hobby or twenty), Smoker's Jitte, and hey, he even finished off that saw he was supposed to finish a long time ago for Edward's client, the Medic. It's amazing how much work a guy can get done when he doesn't want to talk to Raphael, because he's a jerk, and Winry because of soap opera-esque brooding. Well, Edward, at least Sokka still has you, you freakish mountain of a teenage boy.

He'll be home later for awhile after work, but then he'll be heading to the roof of the house. Why? Because it's time he got rid of that spotlight with the Batman symbol on it before it causes any unwelcome attention. Or at least, he needs to get the metal bat piece on there off. Too bad it's welded there. All that work to pry it off might cause him to accidentally turn the thing on a few times and illuminate a certain emblem in the sky. Oops?

Naturally of course, feel free to get up in Sokka's business at any point in the day. He also has his journal open, so he'll certainly speak up if his name is mentioned.]

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[And so, in she goes and before she starts to head off to her room she gives Sokka a questioning, dubious look.]

[Sokka yawns and stretches as he goes to rummage the fridge for something to eat before going to bed. As he holds up a tub containing a well past expired sandwich, he catches Katara's expression.]

You okay?

Edited 2010-05-07 02:09 (UTC)

I still don't like it. How can you be so comfortable with her?

[He blinks a bit at that. Oh... he really should have seen this coming.]

Because she's not a bad person and she's not our enemy anymore. [Sokka decides this sandwich is no good and tosses it.]

[She shakes her head. She's tired, and still stinging from feeling like she was the intruder when she was just trying to come back to her own house.]

Whatever.

[He's silent for a moment. He could just let the matter rest, eat this piece of questionable chicken he's found in the back of the fridge, and go to bed. Or they could talk. Because they needed to talk. He takes the chicken leg in hand and walks past Katara, then glances back at her.]

C'mere Katara. [He heads into his own room. Because it's one thing to eat in his room, another to eat in hers. He goes to sit on the end of his bed, expecting her to follow.]

...[He can't just let her go to sleep? First the secret-keeping, and then the banging, and then the more secret-keeping, and then more Fire Nation girls who don't even realize what they did was wrong, hanging out in her front yard, and now he won't just let her go to sleep?

She follows him, but doesn't go in, leaning on the doorframe.]

What is it?

[Well this could be going better. He chews on some cold chicken as he tries to figure out what he's going to say. Well, he'd just have to go with what he knew.]

Ty Lee told me why she worked with Azula. They were friends, as kids. Back before Azula was crazy evil, I guess. At least until Ty Lee ran away from home to be in the circus. [And this... really isn't too relevant.] Anyway, the only reason she was ever against us was because Azula didn't give her a choice. She tracked Ty Lee down and threatened her into coming with her. That's the only reason she was against us. Not for the Fire Nation or for her sense of honor. Because she had to.

[Katara looks up at him.] Are you making excuses for her now? 'Oh, what she did wasn't wrong because Azula threatened her?' Because it's fine to try to stop the Avatar from saving the world if you're threatened?

[Seriously? Why is he doing this?]

Hey, I'm not saying what she did was right. She shouldn't have waited so long to stand up to Azula. Who knows? Maybe if she had, Ba Sing Se would have never been taken over and we would have won with the invasion.

[He stares down at the ground.] I just figured you should know that, is all.

You've told me some of this before. Why are you telling me this now?

[Intentions don't matter - excuses don't matter - actions matter. And as far as Katara can tell, Ty Lee doesn't even care what she almost helped Azula do.]

I just think she deserves a chance, that's all. Besides, her only 'friend' here threw her in a prison.

[And after a moment's pause, because he honestly thinks this is a good thing.] Besides. I got her to agree to teach me some of her moves. I won't have to worry about Azula following me around anymore.

I'm trying to give her a chance, but that doesn't mean--

[Wait. What. What?]

What?

Yeah. You know. [He does a few lame practice punches.]

A little one-two to knock Azula out. I didn't get to see it when Ty Lee did it to Azula. Personally I would like to see it for myself.

[...Please tell me he's not serious. Katara feels sick. She speaks very slowly, and carefully.]

Are you telling me. That you are learning. To block chi?

[That isn't the answer he was expecting. He can see that she is not pleased. At all.]

Well... hopefully. I think I can probably do it.

[And her reaction is instant-] Why would you want to learn that!? That's the most horrible fighting technique I've ever seen - you've had it happen to you! How could you want to do something like that to anyone else? Why would you want to?

[No... Sokka has seen worse. And you're one of the only two people he knows who can do it. More importantly though, he has had his chi blocked. It was annoying, yes, but he could think of worse ways to be disabled. A clobbering to the head, for instance.]

Because it's practical, Katara. It's a nonlethal way to disable someone without having to do serious harm to them without having a convenient Shirshu tongue around. Ty Lee says you can even learn to massage a pressure point to fix whatever was done, anyway.

[And that is exactly why she hates it so much.]

It's only nonlethal if it's done exactly right - do you know what a large blockage to chi can do? I do! It's the very force of life that's inside someone, and you're messing around with it from the inside. It's just - terrible!

[And she's actually starting to feel physically sick. One hand goes down to wrap around her stomach in a defensive posture. First fire, and now this? What the hell, Sokka?]

[This is more of a reaction than he expected. Eventually he answers.]

... I know it's dangerous, Katara. [But so is sticking a sword through someone's gut.] But really, who do you think I'd ever use it on?

[...and that's not a question she even considered. And her eyes widen, and she goes pale. And really? Katara wants to run away now. Is he learning this so he can--

But she doesn't run. Her chin comes up. Her voice is tense:]

Why are you asking me that? What difference does it make?

[He puts his hand on his sword.]

You didn't care when I learned to use this. [He pulls it out to inspect the blade.] This can do a lot more than just mess up someone's chi. If I'm not careful with it, I could easily kill someone with it. Fortunately I had a good teacher so that doesn't have to happen. [He slides it back into its sheath.] And it's not something I'd ever use on anyone I care about.

With a weapon, you just kill someone. This isn't like that!

[She's practically trembling - why can't he understand?]

[Which is worse, as far as he's concerned. But he's quiet as he considers it.]

Fine. If it's that important to you, I'll call it off. [It's clear that it bothers her and who knows, maybe after she's had enough time to think about it, she'll warm up to it. Like with the electricity in the house.] She can teach me how to stand on my head or something, instead.

[No, there are worse things than killing - and taking away someone's will is the worst of it. She hates that she knows how to do that now, and she doesn't want it for him, she doesn't want him to have to know what it feels like - like soaking your soul in dirty oil. So it's not just important to her that he stops, it's important to her that he understands. And for a flash she hates Ty Lee for this.]

You don't understand. [And for once, she doesn't have the words to explain it - it's just so deeply and instinctively wrong. The corners of her eyes start to fill up with tears.] And I don't understand you right now either.

[So - for the moment - she drops the chi blocking to move on to something they might be able to connect with, another cause of her frustration:] Does she even understand that what she did was wrong? Or is she just happy not to have to listen to Azula anymore? Is she treating you like an actual person? Or are you just something for her to play with? You know what they think about us.

Edited 2010-05-07 06:31 (UTC)