Be Prepared (Singing Hyenas Optional) [ Open ]

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

Sokka had found himself an open spot in the city that seemed it would do perfectly for what he needed it for, and then set to work. He laid his weapons out in the grass and sat, considering them. Sword, spear, knife, war club, boomerang, shotgun, and a newly acquired semi-automatic handgun. He let his hands drift over them a moment before he picked up the spear. It had been a bit too long since he'd really practiced with that, best to stay sharp and focused. He raised the weapon into a guard and set off into a series of lunges, thrusts, parries, and ripostes; advances and retreats against an imaginary opponent. The young man ended with a final thrust, then dropped the weapon back onto the grass, taking in a few deep breaths before picking up his boomerang and jamming it into his belt, then drew his sword. This was good.

When he practiced he didn't have to think about anything. Not Katara and her willing submergence into a strange and foreign culture. Not Aang and the Nightmare King. Not Kelly and...whatever was going on with her. Just the sword and the footwork. He slid forwards into a neat lunge, dropped and turned it into a down downwards slash before it merged into a rising jab with the point, mind focused solely on remembering everything he had been taught. Probably why he didn't hear anyone who approached.

Comments

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"Oh, no. I only learned the sword there. Club, knife, spear and boomerang I all learned at home, in the Southern Water Tribe. And the guns I learned here." He staggers onward valiantly.

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

"What's a boomerang?" she asks. "And what are guns?"

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"I'll show you once we get back to the city, yeah?" Kind of hard to demonstrate right now, after all.

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

She shrugs. "Sure. So, the Southern Water Tribe - what's that place like?"

Besides wet?

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"Cold, icy, wet, and the best place in the world. It's home." He sighs quietly. Man, he misses the snow right now.

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

"Wow, the Southern Water Tribe is cold? What's the Northern Water Tribe, an iceberg?"

She smiles at her own joke. Northern hemisphere-dweller. Sorry Sokka.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"Actually the further south you go, the colder it gets! It's like going north in reverse." Sokka grins.

"Good one though. And actually, the Northern Water Tribe is an ice city."

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

"Really?"

She has to think about this for a minute. "So, there's a point where going south, it becomes so hot that . . . if you keep going south, the temperature starts going the reverse? There's ice at the northern and southern ends of the world?"

A whole city made of ice. It sounds . . . cold. And moderately unpleasant, for something year-round, but Mulan doesn't want to insult her new friend's home.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

He nods.

"Yeah, basically, the earth is a ball, right? And there's the North Pole at the top and South Pole at the bottom. And the poles are both really, really cold."

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

"Are you sure? How do you know?"

This is fairly new information for her. Not that she can disbelieve it ENTIRELY. The world as she knows it is pretty big.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

He couldn't say a flying bison. Knowing people from other worlds, they wouldn't believe him.

"Okay, uh, look at it like this. Say you have a ship right, and it's going out to sea. When it starts disappearing over the horizon, you see the hull disappear first. And then the sails and masts and whatever. YOu can see curvature of the earth like that."

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

"I've never seen the sea before."

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"Really?!" That was weird. How could you not have seen the sea. It was so...huge.

"That's really strange for me, because the ocean is what keeps my people alive. It gives us everything we need. Fish and penguins and whales and otter-seals and seaweed and all sorts of things for food. Bone for tools, skins and furs for clothing, everything."

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

"So show me in the Sensoriums some time. I'd like to see it."

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"Sure, I'd be happy to! It's really cold down there, though." He laughed.

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

"So I should get a cloak before we go?"

They've reached the Possessions locker by this point, and Mulan makes a beeline for her stuff. "I have a warm one somewhere -"

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"The Sensoriums will give you the right clothes...hold on..." He deposited a few of his items before picking out a couple practice swords. He of course held on to his shotgun, sword and knife.

"Let's go!"

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

"Hold on. I know mine's somewhere."

Hmm. Mirror. Comb. Beads of jade. Pendant for balance. Where's the - aha! Practice sword, 12-o-clock. She picks it up, takes a few practice swings, and smiles once she's satisfied with the condition. "All right. I'm ready."

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"Right! Off we go!" He turns to lead the way to the sensoriums, a spring in his step.

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

"So, how long have you been practicing the School of Piandao?" Mulan asks, as they walk. "Were you born into a military family?"