Sokka the 74th - [Action/Voice]

[markofthewise]

[THE FIRST DAY.]

[Two weeks. It's a long time to be on a mission, but Sokka has no regrets. The mess with Kin'cora had gotten to him and he found a kind of relief in working with other people from other enclosures. There was a lot of talk among him and the others. He spread the word. Maybe it wouldn't do Luceti much good, given he learned very little, but the more the others knew, the better. But boy was he glad to be back in Luceti. When he emerges from the tunnels at around 6PM, he's tired out from a hard day of work, but it's a good kind of tired. He makes going home his first priority. He'll miss dinner, inevitably, but with any luck there's leftovers. Catching up with the others takes a few hours before he ever breaks away to wander the village.

What's on the agenda? Hitting up the smithy to see where things are at. He never got to find out how much was lost after the Kin'corans left, so it's time to see if one of his minions smithy buddies took an inventory. And you know, he wants to check in on them too. That's cool. Also, he heads to Good Spirits because he was informed very sternly by one of his buddies on the mission that the only proper way to end a hard day's work is a good stiff drink. Sokka, the adult that he is, was inclined to agree. THAT IS HIS ENTIRE DAY.

But there is another.]

[DAWN OF THE NEXT DAY]

[Sokka wakes up and does his usual morning routine and goes to NOT the smithy, but the BATTLE DOME. That's right. Record scratch. After talking to the main console for awhile, he heads into one of the rooms and in something that takes some finagling at first, he starts... building a sub. A holographic sub. One that is small enough to fit into his hand, but can expand if he gives the command, so he can work on specific details. It's like working on a blueprint, but in 3D. His nights on his mission had been spent trying to recreate the submarine made by the Mechanist. He's been steadily improving on the design, specifically built to be powered by waterbending, but done in a way to streamline the process and make it faster. And sturdier. He's not sure it will be easy to build with Luceti's technology, but...

Well, Haruhi got him excited. And he spends the better half of the day on this. Because of the Dome time limit, he's constantly seen going in and out to restart the program or grab a snack. For those hoping to fight, this is probably annoying, since there's only six chambers that tend to get used a lot. At one point during the day, he loses the dome to some short and grumpy guy, so Sokka turns to the journal.]

Has anyone really tried the stuff in these vending machines before? I mean, I usually just get a soda or something, but this stuff is amazing. Like... look at these. [He lifts up an oreo to the camera.] It's two cookies, but with some kind of paste between them. But the paste tastes like sugar! And then there's these! [Sokka lifts up an red lump of candy.] Apple gels. They're great, although I don't think they taste like real apples. There's something unusually refreshing about them. I had about ten just now and it made my fingers all tingly. Actually, I'm kind of feeling tingly all over and-- [Sokka looks away and spots something else] Oh! And check this out! [He pulls out a WORM. A multicolored worm.] It's a CANDY worm. I was thinking I could use it for fishing, but it's actually kind of tasty. Oh, and then there's these fished shape crackers...

[He'll go on like this for awhile. People can listen or ignore him, but he'll be casually highlighting the awesome contents of the Battle Dome vending machines.

He'll be coming home later with the stomach ache from hell.]

Comments

[markofthewise]

"... I think I'd prefer the latter. You can ask Katara about the fun part." He would have been more okay with it if he didn't think the prince was kind of a creep.

[herotypical]

"...Was it one of those very serious dates or just a let's-have-coffee-and-split-a-sundae dates?"

[markofthewise]

"I feel like it's better I don't know."

[herotypical]

"I understand you wanting to play the big brother protectorate, but...

The girl was in need of some serious fun. So it might've been worth it."

[markofthewise]

"Sure. I can respect that. But it's not like I have to know the sordid details."

[herotypical]

"...Whether it was fun or not doesn't count as sordid."

[markofthewise]

"It is when you're me, Buffy."

[herotypical]

"Fine. Fine. We don't have to talk about it any longer. But I wanna see her. Soon.

But speaking of finding the fun -- how's it been going on your front? Besides missiony."

[markofthewise]

"Me? I'm uh. Busy. You know, making new weapons. The Kin'corans stole most of the ones I made after the hurricane."

In other words, he hadn't been doing the fun thing lately.

[herotypical]

...Bummer. Sokka needed a day out. Obviously. She looked thoughtful while she sliced up some oranges.

"You should set aside some time for something a little less...workish. There's not that much summer left. Have you been out on the boat much, besides running disaster relief fisheries? 'Cause I'm a pretty accomplished sailor these days. Or!

I have another idea. A favour, almost. But it could be fun."

[markofthewise]

"... a favor. I thought I was supposed to be having fun? Because generally, I work to earn favors from other people."

Like always, his answer was mostly sarcastic.

[herotypical]

"It could be the fun kind of favour. See -- I wanna learn how to hunt. Nothing big. Nothing flashy. Rabbits. Maybe a deer. Do we have any otters in town?"

[markofthewise]

He was surprised. Intrigued and kind of flattered, but very much surprised. Also strangely concerned.

"... you have something against otters?"

[herotypical]

"N-no. I just...have it on semi-good authority that they're mostly delicious. Only I also think they're also kinda cute. But...

If rationing happens again? I wanna be able to provide for me and mine."

And maybe also feed a vampire.

[markofthewise]

"Rationing. With otters."

He was not convinced.

[herotypical]

"...The rationing part's true. I promise."

She held her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "The otters are...probably a bad idea and I probably shouldn't use any Sokka-taught skills for wasteful dietary requirements. Maybe Spike'll be satisfied with deer. That way the folks back home can eat the deer and nothing gets left out.

Only -- what would you ever do with a deer antler?"

[markofthewise]

"Same thing you do with their bones. They can be fashioned into all kinds of tools and weapons. Though... given we have plenty of wood and metal here, I guess you might just keep them as decoration."

[herotypical]

"And...do you like the taste of it? Deer? I mean -- I guess it doesn't really matter. Eating is eating in a crisis, right?"

[markofthewise]

"I've never actually had any. Not the deer here, anyway. It would be a waste to bring something that big down when I'm mostly just hunting for sport here."

Though his version of sport involved eating what he killed. Not strictly wasteful, but he wasn't doing it out of survival either.

[herotypical]

"...You don't just snag rabbits, do you? 'Cause I hear they're not all that appetizing."

[markofthewise]

"I prefer fowl. Duck, especially. It's a good chance to put ol' Boomerang to work." He considered thoughtfully. "When I was a Slayer, I already knew how to use one. What about you? Ever used one?"

[herotypical]

"Not since I was a kid. I've thrown a few things that don't come back, though. Cymbals. Poles. The occasional axe. But I tend to pick things up pretty fast..."

Pretty fast was an understatement. She didn't need long to access any locked away memories for this weapon or that. There could be difficulties, here in Luceti. She wasn't as tied to the lineage here as she was back home. But it was still possible.

"I'd be willing, though. To try."

[markofthewise]

He nodded, already looking forward to it. Even if he knew there wouldn't be much of a learning curve with Buffy. She'd get it right away.

"It's a useful weapon, but also a great hunting tool. If you take down a bird, then your boomerang goes down with it. Otherwise, it comes right back to you. That way you're not wasting arrows."

[herotypical]

"Huh."

Give her a moment while she further considers this point. "Can you sharpen'em up? Or does that ruin the 'ranging?"

[markofthewise]

"Sure you can, but you need to wear protective gloves so you don't hurt yourself. But mine is sharp enough to cut through rope easily."

It was absurdly sharp, really. He could kill someone with it.