trans_9 | To Meet Oneself In The Halls Of A Bus [Open]

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To Meet Oneself In The Halls Of A Bus [Open]

Since the announcement, Matt had done his best to clean up everything and prepare a pile of food. There were small sandwiches, various snack foods, chips and several bottles of soda. It was simple snack fair, but it was enough to give people reassurance that there was normal food within the lunacy.

Rein puttered around, the little girl heaving up seats and moving them to accomodate the meeting place in the dining hall, pushing together chairs and tables with surprising strength. The pair worked busily and soon were prepared for whatever would come.

"Seems like we're all ready," said Matt, wiping his forehead. "Made all sorts of snack foods, and I've got the slow roast in the pressure cooker for those who want something hearty."

Walking to the door and wiping his hands on a rag, he opened the door to the bus to welcome anyone who was coming in.

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Katara didn't like seeing Zuko this way. Yes, there had been times when he had hurt Aang that she'd hated him, and how he had betrayed them and chased them around the world. She remembered the threat she gave him when he joined, though she regretted it a little now, and why she had been so hesitant to have him be a part of their team.

But she knew better now.

Katara was happy Zuko at least retained that kinship with her: he was a person she was intensely loyal to, after all they'd been through. She would listen to whatever was bothering him.

"I'll listen without losing it," Katara said. "Trust me. I understand you a little better than I used to, after all."

He covers his face once.

"Just bad dreams."

He doesn't want to admit out loud that he has no way of knowing for sure that he never killed anyone. Or that if he ever did, it was unlikely to have been his mother . . .

"I don't want to talk about it." He shrugs. "I haven't been here before. Show me around."

Katara stared at Zuko a moment. She had never thought several years ago that she'd see a Zuko that looked like this: usually she just saw that determination aimed at capturing Aang and hurting them. Now, when she saw him confused and quietly brooding, it bothered her. Zuko had become a close friend, and his pain was hers, just like any of them on team Avatar. What was more, she knew what it was like to question her very self.

"I will," she said, "but listen Zuko, I want to tell you something. I know you haven't known me for very long, but I've had a chance to see you, the good and the bad. I know there might be things you did that you're not proud of, because my nightmares went there too. But you have to realize something: whatever happened then, you have the power to change it. I've seen you do that. Your uncle was proud to eventually see that change in you."

She smiled, then beckoned. "You should see Will's room first."

He doesn't know quite how to respond to her faith. So after a moment of looking blankly, vaguely guilty, he nods.

"Okay. Lead the way."

Katara sighed. She'd forgotten how long it took Zuko to break out of his funkier moods: that, and she still didn't know what it was that was bothering him, although she had a stronger suspicion that it had something to do with his nightmares. Zuko, after all, had a complicated past, and there were probably things that happened to him that he still wasn't proud of.

THe first place she brought Zuko was Will's room (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/elpedrososama/w90-19.jpg), the gymnasium. It was a place that was pretty appropriate for all of Will's energy, and Katara liked coming here when she had a lot of energy to burn off.

"Will's classroom," she said. "I come here when I try to get back to the more fluid part of my waterbending: I practice keeping balance, extending my limbs and generally keeping active in here."

He nods at the room. It's not what he's used to, but these days, very little is.

"It's more peaceful than the rest of the ship." He looks around, noting that for all intents and purposes, somebody spends a lot of time here. "And she doesn't mind us using it?"

"Well remember, its also a classroom," Katara said. "So there will be other people in it too, especially people that know how to use magic." She shrugged. "Which most people seem to think that we use, by the way. I have to keep explaining that we don't."

She held up a few key cards, smiling. "Matt said we could pop by and use it from time to time. He really is a great guy: you should meet him! Hey, actually, I should take you to another room!"

And on to the fire room (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/elpedrososama/w90-16.jpg).

Zuko smiles, for the first time in . . . well, a while.

"This is more my style." The warmth, hot and dry, is comforting. "Whose place is this?"

Katara grinned. She had a feeling Zuko would prefer this room.

"This belongs to Taranee, one of Will's friends." Katara said. "She's supposed to be the guardian of Fire anyway. Now if you mean who the bus belongs to, it was found by Matt, and its something from his world. It's a magic school."

"Now this is more my style."

He marches over to the . . . is that a lava pit? Yes, it is, and holds his hands up to it, enjoying the heat and the presence of this much earth-turned-fire. There's actually a smile on his face again.

"I'll probably stay here. If Matt or Taranee doesn't mind."

Katara shrugged. "Well, you can take it up with Matt, but he's the type that's all about us learning and becoming one with our powers. Taranee isn't here though, not yet anyway. So far its Will, Matt and Irma from their world. I'm sure wherever she is though, she'd love to know that you're making use of an element you both share."

She grinned. "I'm glad to see you so pumped Zuko. You;re usually so somber un less you're with Mai. It's...nice."

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To Meet Oneself In The Halls Of A Bus [Open]

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