Sokka the 75th - [Action] (Backdated to the 10th)

[markofthewise]

[Introspection]

It's an interesting thing to reflect on life in Luceti. Sokka remembered hearing it phrased as the "Luceti education". It certainly was some education. Looking back, he could scarcely believe some of the things that had happened to him. He'd fallen in love with two girls thanks to the annual love event. He'd been convinced he was a father. Not only that, but he was the father of those two very same girls. He had partial memories of living the life of an Avatar, one that granted him a unique set of memories of a mother he had barely remembered before. He had faint memories of what his entire life would be like if he had been a girl. More complicated than that, he'd spent a month as another girl in Luceti with the concern that he could be stuck like that forever. Maybe that was the oddest thing of all. He certainly tried to not ever, ever think about that horrible month.

But it wasn't all weird. Some of it was just horrible. He'd lost friends, seen people die, and watched as everyone from his world came and went with the sole exception of him and his sister. He had fought monsters in Luceti, far beyond his ability to ever stop. Some of those monsters were his friends. He'd been sent into wars, bloody wars, where he fought enemies that could not be reasoned with. He'd grown accustomed to killing his enemies. It was easy now. Too easy. He'd died, too. Not long enough to gain a death penalty, but it happened. It still haunted him. And he still couldn't bring himself to tell more than a small number of people.

He'd loved. Loved and lost. And he got her back. But it wasn't the same. Sometimes he wondered that it might never be the same. He'd grown into a man, but not in the way he ever expected. It was the Luceti education. Everyone was hurting. Everyone. The education was that you learned to pretend like it didn't hurt. You threw parties, you played games, and you spent each and every day acting like maybe one day you'd get back home and that would be a good thing. Eventually, whether it was months or years, people realized that 'going home' wasn't as good as it seemed. They weren't the lucky ones. The sum of their experiences and growth was being ripped from them, in an instant. They were sent home with a wound they didn't know they had. Everyone eventually was doomed to be returned to what they were. Lesser. Smaller. Without the things that now made them who they were.

Sometimes that didn't seem so bad anyway.

[Action]

Three years. That's how long it was now. Sokka sat outside the house, snapping his finger as he tried to summon a spark of Eferin's fire. As he expected, he'd lost it. Not for good, perhaps. But he'd stopped practicing and stopped communing with the spirits. It was little surprise. It was tapping into Tsinku's power that got him toasted. He'd spent so much time invested in other things, that he just lost his connection with the spirits. With a small bit of reluctance, he relied on his zippo lighter instead. It was sufficient to start the fire. It was nothing much, really. Just wooden scraps, paper, cardboard, and other accumulated materials that had started clogging up parts of the house. Most of it was Sokka's own junk. So rather than just throw it out and let the Malnosso deal with it, he decided to just make a fire instead. He realized, of course, he was doing it in the same fire pit that he had used when Suki went home.

Three years. Today was a normal day. Sokka spent the first half of his day at the smithy. With Hiccup on the mend after that particularly painful surgery, it left Sokka as the only one who did the maintenance on the weapons. New Feather season was, at least, gone and done with. He hadn't received any commissions in a while, so it left him with time to start on some new projects. Things he expected would be gifts later. For lunch, he put extra jalapenos on his sandwich. Just like Elisa made them. The nice thing about the smithy was that despite how cold it was, you could sit outside in front of the open door and still be warm from the radiating heat of the furnace.

Three years. Sokka spent dinner at home, as he was supposed to. Then he did some alchemy research at the library. It left the evening free, but he figured there was a particular girl who would be occupying his time. That was the nice bit. It was a long trail and a heavy education. But you could forget when you were around a person who didn't know it yet. Then it was just another day. The twist was that he didn't mind. Education or not, Sokka was happy enough.

((ooc: This post is just a typical 'day in the life of' sort of deal. This is what his schedule looks like. Mostly it's self indulgent. Sorry about that!))

Comments

[ex_tessen852]

"I thought you could handle the cold. And, us normal people need it much more than you do." There was a grin on her lips as she teased him, but she wasn't ready to let him back in with her just yet.

[markofthewise]

"Yeah, but us not normal people like to be warm too!"

[ex_tessen852]

"You're so lucky you have such a nice girlfriend." She stopped pulling away and let him back under the blanket with her. But really, it was a bit warmer with him under it with her.

[markofthewise]

"You have no idea." There was probably deeper meaning there. He pulled the blanket around him and turned his attention out to the dark. "So... almost one month for you now. What do you think?"

[ex_tessen852]

She shrugs. "I know that bad things will happen here, but I guess this place isn't that bad. Though, I think that's just because I have you guys here. I don't think I'd be able to adjust to this place so easily if it wasn't for you and everyone else. I'm really grateful that you guys been so understanding."

[markofthewise]

"Well you do know it gets a lot worse around here than just scavenger hunts, right?" He gave her a concerned look. "I mean. I'm glad you're okay with it. But it won't always be like this."

[ex_tessen852]

"I know. I've been told. But I want to be here for you guys." She leaned against him. "When those harder experiments come along, I'll be ready.'

[markofthewise]

You can never be ready for them. He really didn't want to see her go through that. But his gut knew it would get bad. February was so close. "I know you will. You're a warrior of Kyoshi, after all!"

[ex_tessen852]

That got a laugh. "That I am. Which reminds me, I still need to see what you can do." And she wouldn't mind showing off either. Let's face it. It's really her wanting to show off.

[markofthewise]

He gave her a startled look. "What, you mean now?"

[ex_tessen852]

"No. Not now. But soon." She cuddles against him. "Besides, this is nice."

[markofthewise]

Bullet dodged. "It is nice! And we can wait! As long as you like. There's no rush. At all."

[ex_tessen852]

"Did you not want to?" He's acting weird.

1/2

[markofthewise]

"What!? No! I never said that!" Technically true. "It's just--"

[markofthewise]

Hoo boy. "I've had a lot of time. Exactly three years today. And I've gotten good. Really, really good." He gave her a measured look. The implication was obvious, he thought. He was worried- no, certain that he had surpassed her. He'd done it before already. That experience of seeing someone you know surpass you doesn't always invoke feelings of pride. He knew that first hand with his sister. He'd been hoping to keep it from Suki.

[ex_tessen852]

She was speechless for a moment there. It wasn't that she didn't want him to improve or anything, because she did. She's proud of him, but at the same time, it kinda hurt. There was so much she couldn't remember, and there was a part of her that took pride in the fact that she could still beat him in a fight, so that fact she couldn't anymore hurt.

But. She tried to smile. "That's great." Still, there was some disappointment there. "I still want to see what you can do. I guess I'll just miss being able to kick your butt."

It really sucked not being able to remember anything.

[markofthewise]

He could hear it. The disappointment. The first of many, he figured. Day by day, it was getting harder to be her Sokka. He only wondered how long it would take before she decided it was too much.

"Well... give me a pair of fans and you'd definitely still kick my butt."

[ex_tessen852]

She was grateful for that last comment, even chuckling at it. "At least I have that. But... Will I still be able to see what you can do?"

Though it still hurt to know that she wasn't better than Sokka, she was still going to support him. Or, at least try her best to do so.

[markofthewise]

He nodded. "Sure. Anything you want. I mean... I could even set something up in the Dome, if you want. Or a spar. Or if you like waking up really early, you can watch me training with Master Souji."

The spar idea seemed like the worst idea to him. He didn't want to just go rubbing it in her face.

[ex_tessen852]

Don't worry. The mention of this other guy catches her attention. "Who?"

[markofthewise]

"Okita Souji. He's the one who teaches me swordplay. But uh, there's two of him. So you have to watch for that."

[ex_tessen852]

"How can there be two of him?"

[markofthewise]

"It's... complicated. I don't even really get it, honestly."

[ex_tessen852]

"Then I won't question it." She rest her head on his shoulder. "Do both train you then, or just one?"

[markofthewise]

"No. No no, just the one. I could never handle training with both."

So much trolling. So many broken ribs.