markofthewise | Sokka the 77th

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[action],
[voice]

Sokka the 77th - [Action/Voice]

[On February Twenty-Fifth, Sokka turned nineteen. On the Twenty-Sixth, he left on a routine mission to work as a mechanic on one of the Malnosso's three space vessels high up in orbit. There was no battle, this time. Just good honest work, people to relate to, and a small bunk to call his own. Seven days, just like that.

On March Fourth, one of the mechanics triggered a malfunction on the hangar doors. The crew quickly fled, just as the power went down. They needed to close the hatch leading to the hallway. But without power, it could only be closed from one side. The one about to be opened up into space. The hero, the stupid hero, closed the door. In those brief moments, he thought that maybe if he reached a Tyr Fighter, he could climb in one of those. He ran. Hard.

He didn't make it.

Today, he fell into the sea, nearly drowning, and was saved by the Avatar. It distracted him from what happened, but now that she was off exploring town, he had the chance to go in his room, get dressed, and collect his weapons. It was a good thing he chose not to bring them. They'd be out floating in space right now, otherwise. One thing was strange, though. He wasn't upset. He wasn't distressed. He could only look back on it and regret that it even happened. That was a week's worth of points he wouldn't be getting. Damn Malnosso cheapskates.

After a bit of cleaning up, he went to go approach this new day. He'd be gone from Luceti for two weeks. People would probably miss him. But his first destination was the smithy.

The only problem was that once he got to the smithy, he found himself looking at the walls. They were barer than he left them. People had been picking up some of the weapons he'd made. Well, that wasn't going to do. He wasn't running a charity here.]

Hey Luceti. Looks like I got back in time for the new feathers to roll in. I'm Sokka. Hope you guys are settling in fine! I run the Slash 'n Crash, the local smithy and weapon shop. I make most of the weapons here. I do take commissions if people want stuff. But since there's no money, just talk to me and we can work out a trade. No point in breaking your back for nothing, right?

Anyway, did I miss anything important?

[For the rest of the day, Sokka can be found at the smithy. Later he does about an hour of catch up work at the library, before going home to dinner. Remarkably enough, he doesn't feel like drinking today.

Today is a good day.]

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[It's at the library that she sees him, as she browses through the books, looking for some kind of spell tome that might assist in her quest to forget. Because no matter what Richard might think, this has to be the easiest way to go about it. To move on with her life and get over Peeta.

When she notices Sokka at a nearby table, she tilts her head to study him. The last time she had seen the other boy had been during that damned shift. During that strange kiss that had been entirely unwelcome but not as awful as she ever imagined kissing someone not-Peeta would be.

Her hair is in a messy braid, but she plays with the ends anyway as she debates whether or not to approach. It's been weeks since the shift. She knows it's over by now. It's stupid to feel awkward. So stupid.

And yet, she can't quite bring herself to approach.]

[Worse yet is the fact that Sokka notices her. She looks a little upset and out of it. He'd also seen her message on the journal and that sounded like one big mess. Probably nothing he could help with. Besides, he was super rusty with his alchemy and he really needed to figure out these circles, because he had a really great idea for how to weaponize one of his techniques.

But he does, at the very least, give her the kind of nod that says "hey I noticed you, but we can keep doing our own things."]

[She really can't help it. His casual kind of nod just makes her scowl. At the very least, he should apologize, shouldn't he? For kissing her? For being so stupid during that shift? It might not have all been his fault. He couldn't help the hijacking caused by the Malnosso. But he could have explained that stupid helmet better. Or better yet, just stayed away from everyone if he knew what was going to happen.]

[Oh. She was scowling at him. So he wasn't going to get to finish this, was he? Well, so much for that. He glares at the page, as if this difficult equation was going to solve itself all at once. But it wasn't. Dammit, he'd have to start over.

He looked up and mouthed a 'hey'. They were in a library, after all.]

[She stares at him for a moment or two after he mouths the word. There's a slight, frustrated glare in her eyes. But the 'hey' is better than an absent nod. More of a greeting than just an acknowledgement, right? A sign that she can approach, can come over to... To what? Yell at him for something not really his fault?

Say hello?

Most normal people would probably settle for the latter option. Instead, Katniss chooses something in between as she walks over and takes the seat across from him. Warily,] No more falling in love, right?

[He marks a place in the book and closes it. Tempting as it may be to read and talk, he knows the book would take too much attention to do that. He leans back.]

Don't worry, Katniss. Making out with you is the last thing on my mind.

[She should feel relief at those words. Happiness that the stupid experiment is done and over and that her friend is back to normal. That they could be friends again, maybe even finally go ice fishing if it gets to be colder out again.

Instead, she feels unexpectedly rejected. Maybe it's all those stupid emotions still welled up inside of her from last night, but his response hurts.

And she does the first thing that comes to mind: kick his shin from underneath the table and glower at him.]

Good. Cause it's the last thing on my mind, too.

Oww! [He glares at her. That was not cool at all. And surprisingly, he kicks her back.]

What was that for!?

[When she feels his foot connect with her own leg, her eyes widen in surprise. She yelps in response to the pain and gives him another dirty look.]

Because you could have said that more nicely.

[The last word is, probably unsurprisingly, punctuated with another kick.]

[He nearly kicks back, but he's smart enough to know where that's going to lead. He likes his shins too much for that.]

Well excuse me. I figured that's what you'd want to hear.

It was.

[Just... not entirely like that. She's stupid enough, vain enough to care a little about how others might perceive her. Even if she tells herself otherwise, tries to convince herself that it doesn't matter. That she is ugly and not all that pretty and that whatever Peeta saw in her was entirely a fluke.

She frowns, uncomfortable. Would a simple agreement have been too much to ask for?]

Good. [He shakes his head, annoyed. And his shin hurts now!]

But if it makes you feel any better? You'd be a good girlfriend to have. It's just you wouldn't want someone like me as your boyfriend.

[That's not entirely what she wants to hear either. And she rolls her eyes, though this time, the annoyance is much more self-directed. Because she can already feel her cheeks flush at the compliment.

Even if she doesn't wholly agree with his comment.]

You're wrong. [Said quietly as she tries her best not to blush further. Self-deprecation helps some in this matter] You'd make a much better boyfriend than I would a girlfriend. You don't want someone who picks potential boyfriends based on who'll extend their longevity the most.

Would you do that now?

[He's not going to try and agree or disagree with her on the point itself. Clearly she's beating herself up about past events. So maybe if he makes her feel a bit better about her choices, she'll be less inclined to kick him.]

[She shrugs a little, chewing a bit on her lower lip. In all honesty, she'd rather the straight forward question than attempts to convince her otherwise.

And he's been in her situation, hasn't he? Losing Suki, only to have her come back and then breaking up with her?]

Peeta's not here anymore. I... Isn't that exactly what I'm doing if I move on? Choosing to maybe learn to love someone else because I - I don't think I'm very good at this. At being alone.

You learn to live with it. [Two weeks ago, he'd sound miserable. Probably not even admit it. But he sounds honestly convinced of this now. At peace with it.] Being alone isn't that bad. I know you miss Peeta, but it doesn't have to be all bad. You can still more forward.

[She'd spent four months being alone. Four months of waking up screaming with no one but Buttercup to offer comfort in the form of steely glowing eyes. Which really wasn't much comfort at all.

Alone is what she deserves. But she's not so certain that it's what she wants anymore.]

Have you? [She glances up at him, eyebrows raised.] Have you moved on from Suki?

[he should have hesitated. It would be better if he hesitated. But he didn't.]

I have. What we had is the past. I can't live there forever.

[She blinks in surprise at just how easy those words seem to flow from him. And then she swears quietly under her breath. Just a mild oath, one obvious of time spent around Sharpe. It's not fair that he can just shut it off that easily.]

How'd you do that so quickly?

[Deep down, he knows he should be okay. He wasn't 'yesterday'. His own feelings of having no self worth made him do something big.

But he was fine. He was honestly fine.]

I guess I just had an epiphany. Life goes on.

[Life does go on. It's something Peeta had stressed to her again and again and again whenever it got to be too much for her. But she's never really been good at finding that optimism. Noticing the daffodil in the burgeoning spring.

She's gone through so much. Seen so much. Why can't she have an epiphany like that? What did Sokka do different? Did--]

Did you meet someone else?

No, not really. I mean, I could, I guess. But it's just me. By myself.

[Which isn't so bad. Though he does think it would be nice to have the perks of a relationship again.]

[She shakes her head. It's not making all that much sense to her. Some big epiphany. Something to get over the way he felt about his ex-girlfriend. An ex-girlfriend that she knew he loves, maybe loves as much as she loves Peeta.

Richard had said the best ways were to keep busy and to move on. To find new loves. To drown yourself in your work. There had been nothing about random epiphanies.

It's confusing. He's confusing. Are all boys this confusing? She sighs in frustration, hands falling hard on the table.]

Then what is it?

I don't know. It's just... I'm happy now. Like everything's going to be fine.

[Sure, there's still experiments and drafts. Fighting and struggle. But he can live with all that. One step at a time. It's like a new lease on life and he likes it.]

[That. That's exactly what she wants. The happiness. The idea that life is going to be okay. What she had felt when Peeta was here. It hadn't been easy, but somehow, Peeta always succeeded.

She frowns and slumps into her seat. When her foot hits his shin this time, it really is an accidental act of violence.]

That's what I want. I want to be happy, too.

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