markofthewise | Sokka the 79th

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Sokka the 79th - [Action]

Over two months ago, Sokka died. His penalty was something incredibly intangible. It took from him his empathy, his ability to love, and so many other things. He didn't have a way of describing it, but he was empty. In truth, he wasn't sure he felt anything. There was nothing that truly touched him on the inside.

More than a week ago, Sokka left for a mission. A week and a half with the Depot where they instituted the kind of justice he could appreciate. He certainly felt no remorse when he shot a man for stealing water. When bandits attacked the depot, they rounded up most of them and then strung them up for their trouble. It was a simple morality and for a short while, things actually made sense. Not like the gray morality in Luceti, where people were stupid enough to think that sparing the lives of murderers and thieves meant anything.

And then he got his reward. Cashing in the bulk of mission points he'd accumulated for over a year, he was given what he really coveted the most. Power. And now he had it. As he walked into Luceti, he imagined that he could feel the difference. It was not quite so dramatic as what he had been given by the Rogue Malnosso, but he was content with the knowledge that he'd be keeping what he'd earned. There'd be no scientists taking it away from him this time.

It's mid-day when Sokka returns to town and he's still wearing the cowboy hat he took to the Depot with him. Maybe it doesn't exactly mesh with the Water Tribe clothes he's accustomed to, but he likes it. The hat makes him feel gritty and intimidating. He'll eventually get tired of hat hair, though. Just not today.

So today for his time spent back in Luceti, he heads home to greet whoever might be there. He checks in Foo Foo, the saber toothed moose lion he received from Christmas. It's getting quite big now, having reached the size of medium-sized dog. The tips of his antlers are even starting to become a bit more visible. Although the animal does seem quieter around Sokka, its at least obedient and follows him as he goes about Luceti. For today that includes the Smithy until evening, the Library for an hour, back at House 56 for dinner, and then out in the forest to try and teach Foo Foo to hunt.

The next morning, he makes sure that Okita Souji will meet him for their training session. Sokka is looking forward to seeing the results.

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[It's clear to Katniss by now that most animals will never like her. Since Prim's arrival, she and Buttercup have returned to their old rivalry. Scowls and hisses, angry posturing from both her and the cat nearly every time they were in the same room. But that she wouldn't have any other way. It means, for once, something is right in the world.

With Foo Foo, it tends to be different. If just because she's been warned of the size he'll grow. A creature that might grow to be potentially dangerous is not one you want to stay on the bad side of.

Which is why, rather than acknowledging Sokka, she pulls a squirrel off her belt and tosses it towards the creature. A couple of tubers from her bag follow.

Scraps have always worked with Buttercup.]

[The moment dead animals go flying, Sokka is on alert, up until he spots Katniss. Then he relaxes and watches with a small bit of annoyance as Foo Foo happily gobbles up the food.]

You know, he's not going to learn if someone else keeps getting his food for him.

[His retort is met with an eye roll, brief as it is. Because for all Katniss might now be willing to admit Sokka attractive, that cowboy hat just seems odd with his normal choice of clothing. Not that she'd ever say such aloud. She's heard enough criticisms from Effie to know what it's like to be on the receiving end of that kind of thing.

Still. She crosses her arms and nods in Foo Foo's direction.] You told me that he's going to grow up to be dangerous. I do not want him to dislike me then. Some of us value our own lives, Sokka.

[Especially now that she has a sister to live for again.]

Hey, I value my own life plenty. If anything, I value it more than I used to. Besides, Foo Foo wouldn't hurt you! I mean, unless I told him to. But there's not much chance of that happening.

[Either way, he'll let Foo Foo have his snack. Though that probably means hunting is over for the evening. They'll just have to try again tomorrow.]

[He has, perhaps, gotten better at that in recent months. Taking no prisoners in the last draft had been evidence of that. The more Cultists dead, even just for the duration of the fight, the less chance you had yourself of dying.

But when push comes to shove, she still suspects Sokka's more of a hero than she is. Someone who isn't driven by the same selfish motivations as herself.

She looks skeptically from Sokka to the beast and back again, lips quirking into a slight grin.]

I hope not.

[He'd been keeping his boomerang in his hand, so he finally puts it away as he walks to meet her. He very casually moves in to plant a kiss. He'd spent way too long at that depot surrounded by dusty plain-faced folk.]

It's nice to see you again.

[Her arms unfold as he leans in, wrapping instead around his neck as she kissed him back. She had missed being able to do this in the time that he'd been gone. Being able to kiss someone and be kissed in return, savoring the sensations that came from these sorts of action.

When she pulled away, it was with a pleased little grin.] Nice to see you, too. How was the mission?

[Nice. But not perfect. He's still wearing a carefree smile as he pulls away, but there's still a calculated dissatisfaction floating in his head.]

I came back in one piece. No bullet holes this time. [He couldn't say the same for his last time at the Depot.] We took down a few bandits that came into town. That got pretty hairy there for awhile.

[She raises her eyebrows, slowly looking him over from head to toe. Eyes lingering a little longer than necessary on certain parts of his anatomy. And why not? She might not be very good at it, not nearly as flirtatious and giggly as some other girls, but she could still try.

Finally, her gaze settled on his cowboy hat.] And you remembered to bring back a souvenir.

It's great, right? Especially when I look like this.

[He steps back and then twists his face into an unhappy scowl, just like all the Depot people.]

[Was that supposed to make the hat look better? That unhappy, almost angry, scowl of his that reminded Katniss almost of herself. She couldn't be certain. A change in wardrobe would probably be more appropriate.

She muffled a laugh as she reached forward to tip the brow of his hat downward so that it shadowed the scowl. Then she stepped back to admire her work.

Cinna would be proud.]

The tributes from District 10 wore hats like that in the 74th Games during the Tributes Parade. [She frowned, wrinkling her nose for a moment.] The rest of their costumes weren't so good.

[But all had paled in front of Cinna's creations.]

[Sokka fixes his hat and crosses his arms, half pouting at her messing with it. Yeesh, everyone is a critic!]

Yeah, well I don't have that problem. I already look great.

[He hadn't been there. He hadn't seen how awful the costumes could be, year after year. The odds had been in her favor - hers and Peeta's both - when Cinna and Portia had requested to be the stylists for District 12. She had looked magnificent then. And had looked magnificent in every one of Cinna's outfits following.

She giggled a little in response and then closed the gap between them to give him a quick kiss in apology.]

You'd be surprised what a talented stylist could do.

[How beautiful Cinna had managed to make her look.]

[He returns the kiss, but when she pulls away he's definitely looking skeptical.]

And what? Paint my face like Effie does? Psh.

[He'd painted his own face as had Suki. Heck, Peeta did it once as well. None of them looked as tacky as what that woman went around in.]

[Katniss snorted loudly before rolling her eyes at him. Paint his face like Effie? Capitol couture was not the defining point of fashion for the rest of the Districts. No, she had been thinking of the makeup job her prep team did under Cinna's guidance. Something she had never been able to replicate, even if she did have that beautiful flame dress from her first interview here.]

I wouldn't ever kiss you again if you did that.

[Because: ew. Effie couldn't pull it off. She doubted Sokka could do any better a job.]

I was talking about me. The way Cinna had my hair and my makeup done before the Games. The costumes he made me. Trust me, I didn't look a thing like Effie.

[Her reaction earns a chortle from him. Truth be told, Katniss was not someone he could easily imagine dressed up that way.]

Good. I don't think I'd be able to think about kissing you if that was the case.

[She smiled back in response. Good to know that Sokka had some taste. Or, at least, some brains. Because Capitol fashion could never, ever be attractive. You'd have to be blind to think it so.

Probably made blind, actually, by all the colors used.]

I have it here. The dress Cinna made for my first interview with Caesar Flickerman. I could show you, if you want.

[Because a dress like that was made to be showed off, to be admired. And more than that, a part of her felt like she owed it to Cinna to show that not everything that came out of the Capitol was horrible.]

[Sokka weighed that in his mind. Stand around in the woods with a pet that wasn't interested in hunting or go see his not girlfriend change into a dress. Surely he was at a crossroad and would need to carefully weight both sides before--]

Let's do it. I think I'm done here. Are you done here, Foo?

[Foo Foo looks up with a half eaten squirrel hanging from his mouth and makes a happy grunt.]

I think that's a yes.

[She glanced at Foo Foo and the squirrel. From the looks of it, there wouldn't even be entrails left to bring home to Buttercup. Well, let the damn cat suffer. It wasn't like he had been all that nice to her since Prim's arrival. She had the scratch makes on her right forearm to prove it.

Chuckling, she looked back at Sokka.]

It's okay by me if Foo Foo comes with us.

[And if he accidentally ruined the pink couch cover? So be it. It looked far better in its original brown, anyway.]

I'll tell him not to eat your cat, but no promises.

[And then he promptly proceeded to say nothing, because he knew that Katniss couldn't possibly care if that actually happened.]

[She snickered in response. Buttercup was tough enough to fend for himself, even against a much bigger animal like Foo Foo. He had managed to make it all the way home from District 13. She wasn't worried.

But she had to admit, that fight would probably be very entertaining.

She reached for Sokka's hand before beginning to walk towards her house.] I wouldn't care. But Prim might have a thing or two to say about that.

[He really didn't get much out of the hand holding thing. Not anymore, at least. But he obliged her because it wasn't as if he had better things to do with his hands at the moment. He just worried that this was a bit more relationshippy than what he signed up for.

He did raise an eyebrow.]

Prim?

My sister.

[Those two words meant more to her than anything else. She lets go of his hand shortly thereafter, once certain he was following. The fleeting contact had been nice, helpful in guiding him in the right direction rather than wasting her words. But it was also too much an impracticality to hold hands for an entire trek through the woods, no matter how long or short that trek was.]

She's here now.

[Now was a moment where, if he were himself, he'd be excited for her. He'd feel her happiness and exuberance and utter joy at such a reunion, knowing full well how much that meant to her as a fellow older sibling.

But he didn't. And for once he felt just the slightest bit left out.

But he smiled anyway, though without a whole lot of energy.]

That's great!

[She frowned just a little. Though the response was what it should be - the smile, too - it wasn't with Sokka's normal enthusiasm. Hadn't they talked before, swapped stories of what it was like being the elder sibling? She didn't necessarily expect him to remember Prim's name, but...

But he was normally more excited about these sorts of things. Wasn't he? She knew just how important his sister was to him. Of everyone she knew here, he had seemed most likely to understand.

Still, she refused to let anything ruin this. Ruin her week. She could sing again. She had her sister. So what if it made her a bad friend? She couldn't bring herself to care.]

It is. It's... unbelievable. Having her here.

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