http://kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] trans_92010-04-02 05:10 pm

Basics

There was a time to get sick. There was a time to bemoan the things that seemed like empty spots in her head. and there was time to sleep and dream of times that were better (or have nightmares of worse times too). But when these times passed, and eventually that was the case, there was nothing left to do but go back to what you were best at, and refine it to make it your own. Going to the podpop had been a start, and Katara capitalized on it the next day. A visit to the Sensorium and the scenery changed: she was at the desert lands they'd been left to brave after the library sunk and Appa had been captured. There was no gang here though, just miles and miles of sand and heat bearing down on her. To Toph and Aang, she was sure these circumstances were unpleasant, but to her and Sokka specifically, it had been alien and frustrating (it had helped Sokka that he was strung out on Cactus juice and she was fixated on keeping the group together at the time). She had also made sure there would be no water nearby, and so her pouch was also gone.

The morning was spent in quiet meditation on the sands. Her mind was full of questions and brimming with thoughts, but she momentarily displaced them from her mind. She was uncomfortable, sweaty and hot, but stayed in deep meditation, moving from time to time so she wouldn't cramp up. Once she'd seen the sun position itself to indicate noontime, Katara rose, and her attire was that of her firebending disguise: she would need it.

The exercising in the Weirding way, however, required targets, so the desert was now strewn with several dummies. Here Katara incorporated her Bene Gesserit martial art with that of the training she'd practiced in Will's gym: she catapulted herself upward, struck with deadly precision and then rolled into a new defensive stance, ready for the next attack. It had been awhile since Katara incorporated her waterbending flexibility with the Weirding way, and truthfully it was seldom Katara practiced the art, fully aware (thanks to deadly robots) how damaging it could be. She bent her legs a bit and brought her arms up again, using her force against the dummy and knocking it backward with what looked like minimal effort. She knew it would be awhile before she was an expert in the Weirding Way, but that was more than reason to practice, with all they had encountered.

When she had worked up a definite sweat, she went back to the flexibility part: she flipped, jumped, turned several times in the air and, on her back, curled her legs upward and leapt back to position. She was stinky and definitely perspiring, but that was easily taken care of if she decided to turn the Sensorium into a spa, not that she was in a big hurry to do so.

[identity profile] nerve-pincher.livejournal.com 2010-04-03 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
"A most sensible course of action," Spock commented. High praise indeed, coming from the half-Vulcan, though she was unlikely to realize it. "In our present position, it would be wise to be prepared for any extremity. Our survival may depend upon it. It was for this reason that many of my people taught their children self-defense, despite the cultural taboo against violence."

[identity profile] nerve-pincher.livejournal.com 2010-04-03 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
"It is neither good, nor bad. Merely necessity. And it is wisdom to recognize necessity, difficult as it may be." He glanced around before returning his gaze to the young woman. "This Ohm menace clearly has advanced technology. We are likely to be disadvantaged in that respect. Our advantage lies in our diversity, and our recognition of that which we have lost, and that which we have still to lose, should we fail."

[identity profile] nerve-pincher.livejournal.com 2010-04-03 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"I awakened in the midst of the fight," Spock said. "It is true that I have been trained in strict mental discipline, but it is difficult to say how vulnerable I would have been to this Nightmare King." He sat gracefully, his legs tucked underneath him in a meditative pose. "My mind has been troubled of late," he admitted.

"We must choose to use our differences to our advantage." Spock knew from experience what could be accomplished.

[identity profile] nerve-pincher.livejournal.com 2010-04-04 05:48 am (UTC)(link)
"Indeed." Spock didn't need to wonder what sort of things the King may have subjected him to, had he been part of the initial attacks. His worst memories were the sort of memories that would turn many strong people into a gibbering mess. And his own subconscious occasionally brought even worse possible scenarios, not that there was much worse than witnessing the destruction of one's entire planet, helpless to save a beloved mother.

"There are many obstacles to be overcome, but the possibility exists." He could calculate the odds, given a bit more time and demographic information. "As long as the possibility of unity and cooperation exists, it is imperative that we make the attempt."