Sokka the 77th - [Action/Voice]

[markofthewise]

[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.]

Comments

[ action ]

[markofthewise]

A big jerk. He'd be offended, but it was true.

"But aren't we closer in age than you and Jack?"

[ action ]

[herotypical]

"We are. But Jack's not younger than me. There, you see, is the rub."

[ action ]

[markofthewise]

"Seems like a pretty lame double standard to me."

[ action ]

[herotypical]

"It's not a double standard, Sokka. It's a...

It's a preference. Or a pattern. Or maybe just a bad habit. Anyway, it's what I'm used to. Older guys. In age and in era."

[ action ]

[markofthewise]

"My first girlfriend was older than me. I mean, she turned in the Moon after that. But then my second one was younger. Variety."

[ action ]

[herotypical]

"...My track record has plenty of variety. Heck, I've dated the undead. You don't get more variety than that."

[ action ]

[markofthewise]

"First of all, gross. Second of all, Moon Spirit. And that's just two girlfriends in all."

1/2

[herotypical]

"...It's not that gross--"

2/2

[herotypical]

"O-oh! Psych grad student whose night job involved spec-ops work. Va-ri-ety."

[markofthewise]

"Do they have blood breath? What's that like?"

[herotypical]

"Puh-lease. I had very strict post-meal kissing boundaries, Sokka."

Or, she tried to have. Sometimes it was tough, when hormones shouted down your better angels. "Besides! Vampires don't really have...breath. Y'know?"

[markofthewise]

"Oh. Right. I guess that makes it way better."

[herotypical]

"It has its advantages. Not that I am any longer a proponent of said advantages. I'm once again a slave to the pulse, Sokka. It's all body heat and working lungs from here on out. Slayer's honour."

She lifted a hand, as if taking an oath. But..."All this chatter, though -- are you looking to move on?"

After Suki?

[markofthewise]

Ah, that. He should probably be bothered. He realized he should be bothered. But he wasn't. It just didn't really seem like a big deal. He could only assume that was a good thing. Progress.

"I don't think me and Suki have a future together. So. Yeah. I think it's time to move on."

[herotypical]

"It's not the worst conclusion to come to," she allowed -- having survived such a conclusion herself with one of those same vampires she spoke of so cavalierly. "As long as everyone's same-paging."

[markofthewise]

"I'd already been without Suki for a long time before she came back. It'll be harder on her than me."

[herotypical]

"But didn't she--"

A pause. A shrug. "Do you two still talk?"

[markofthewise]

"We talked earlier." It did not go well. At all.

[herotypical]

"Like...chatted-about-the-weather talked? Or we-need-to-talk talked?"

[markofthewise]

"Both. In that order."

[herotypical]

"...Any other order would be a little twisted, frankly." Buffy tapped her nails against the countertop. "Who initiated?"

Who needed to talk?

[markofthewise]

"Me. I did."

[herotypical]

It all begged the question: "...Why?"

[markofthewise]

"I thought it was time. I was wrong."

[herotypical]

"Time for what? You're a little sparse on the details."

Her tone wasn't unkind, but Buffy wasn't keen to mince her words.