trans_9 | Basics

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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.

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Negi oofed as he was taken in directly by Katara's counter attack and he hit the sand with a soft thump. "Yield!" exclaimed Negi, holding up his hands before he groaned and sat up. Even with just a little more magic power, he didn't win. Trust him to get overconfident in a spar.

"That was a good move Katara," he said with a grin.

Katara returned the grin and gave him a hand to stand up. "Hey, you're no slouch yourself. You're really strong for someone so young. I don't think even I was that strong back then. But that's what happens when you have to learn really quickly and there's a war on the horizon."

She stretched a moment. "Would you like to see where I'm from?"

Negi nodded. "I needed to protect people, so I had to get strong in a hurry. Most of my school years was spent learning the magic I needed to know."

He the nodded enthusiastically. "Please, by all means! I'd like to see!"

Katara nodded. "Being a victim in times like that isn't an option. When people can come and try to make you feel weak and defenseless, there's really no choice: especially when you decide that you're going to help fight back."

Katara nodded and closed her eyes. The scenery changed now to that of the Southern Water Tribe (http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/8521/wpnickus014jz.jpg), which looked relatively small compared to the North Pole. that didn't make it any less cold however, or any less magnificent in its simplicity. One could hear penguins in the distance as well as the lulling sound of the water beneath ones feet. It was dusk so the sun was just coming down, giving off a brilliance of color.

Katara was no longer in her Fire Nation garb: now in her traditional water tribe clothing, mittens and all. She had thought up Negi a warm woolen hate, mittens and a long, brown coat that suited his dress style.

Clad in the warm coat and outfit, Negi gazed around in wonder. It was so beautiful here on the ice flows. And more than that, the history and culture buff in him was screaming how similar it was to the Eskimo tribes of his own world. "It's magnificent!" exclaimed Negi, trundling forward in the snow and running his hand across the sides of the huts and small walls.

"Look at this structure, it must be steeped in tradition! The packing of the snow, the ice and the natural insulation...! This is what it's about!" proclaimed Negi, spreading his arms in wonder. "I really like your home Katara!"

If there was any doubt that she was going to like Negi, it was gone now. She'd had people appreciate her home, but never quite like this: in fact, compared to most of the other nations, it would have been considered barbaric. At Negi's outburst, Katara flushed happily.

"I'm really glad you like it!" Katara said, smiling. "It is steeped in tradition actually: my father is the chief of our tribe. We don't have quite the numbers and the structures of the Northern Tribe, but I always thought the Southern Pole was a bit homier. My people have been through much, but we are proud of our accomplishments and care for each other. It's because of them I was able to adapt to being on the ship, learned different fighting styles and am able to talk to people so easily. My brother has a bit of a hard time here though."

"I see. The care put into these structures is truly remarkable, and like you said you're adaptable, able to keep everyone together. It's so amazing!" He beamed at Katara, running a hand over what was Sokka's watchtower. "To think I get to see something like this close up. I never got to do so in Wales."

Katara wore a confused look on her face. What did Sokka's watchtower have to do with whales? She shook her head, but continued watching over Negi as he examined the structures.

"It used to be a more remarkable place, sometime ago," Katara said, "But as I said, we've had a lot happen to us." Katara pointed in the distance. It was long off, but with the help of the Sensoriums, they found themselves where Katara indicated. It was there, iced over a bit now, but still foreboding in its appearance: the points were sharp, its intent long ago still clear.

"It's the remains of a Fire Nation ship," she said. "A reminder that the Southern Water Tribe has had to persevere, no matter what may try to bring it down."

A war then. Negi was never quite used to the violence that befell humanity all the time, even though his own life was built on it. "A reminder for your own," he said with a shake of his head. "Such a strong group of people you belong to Katara."

Edited 2010-04-06 15:20 (UTC)

"It's not something we ever wanted...but then, I guess that's what most people say about war, right? No one ever wants to have to deal with all of the pain that comes with it, all the separation. Sometimes its necessary though: war can make you a stronger person, makes you appreciate what you have and who you have it with. You don't take things for granted as much anymore."

Dark was beginning to fall, so she started a fire and made them a dish of five flavored soup and whale jerky. "It's traditional water tribe food. I hope you like it!"

Negi nodded, and watched in fascination at the food being prepared before his eyes. "I'm sure I'll enjoy it!"

Taking a sip, he nodded as his expression lit up. "This is wonderful! It's just amazing how the flavors come together!"

Katara smiled. He was sure a nice boy: she was glad that he had found some of his friends on the ship. She wouldn't have tolerated someone like him being alone. Also, he was strong: she was sure he would be an asset if they ever had to face a mission together.

"Well, that's a recipe from the Southern Water Tribe with a dash of Fire Nation flavoring. I learned it from someone I thought was a friend...but she at least has good taste in food."

Negi nodded, thinking of a few people who were like that, nice at first, but with hidden motives. Evangeline came to mind.

"It's very tasty. Delicious too. I applaud the chef." said Negi honestly.

Katara flushed, but grinned. "You know, you're going to make a girl very happy when you get older. I don't know too many people who would be receptive to trying new things."

She was curious. "Do you happen to know how to cook yourself?"

Negi blushed a brilliant red when he was complimented. "Well um, I try to be a English Gentleman with everything that goes on."

He nodded. "Some regular foods, fish and chips, a few teas, breakfast foods... I had to cook for myself at a young age."

"Well that's good then. Girls may think they want a bad boy, but the truth is they really wants someone they can depend on who respects them and is a good friend. You're really sweet."

Katara wrinkled her nose. "The fish is good, but you might want to think about broadening your range of what you can cook. I would, but there's barely enough time in the day for all the things I want to do. With training, meditation, meeting new people and all of the teams I'm on, not to mentioning looking after my brother and friends from my world...I'm pretty busy. Maybe you'd like to meet some of my friends?"

He blushed again, rubbing his head. "Well sure, I wouldn't mind at all! I do like to meet new people and quite honestly my cooking skills are quite limited."

"It's a big ship, and there are people who would be more than happy to help someone like you!" Katara assured the boy. "As for cooking, I know a guy specifically who can help you with that since he actually has real food, not the slop that the ship plops out."

Negi nodded, thinking of all the help he could get. There was a lot still weighing on his mind and he wanted to make certain he could do his best. "Alright, that sounds excellent!"

Then a thought came to him. "Slop?"

"I'm glad you think so!" Katara said. She decided to lazily bring another log to the fire, and then, with arms extended, she brought some water to steam around them so it had an almost sauna-like effect.

"Yes, slop," Katara said, making a face. "Trust me, you'll know when you taste it."

The steam felt good in the cool air and he was intrigued on how she moved the water like that, and then he nodded, thinking of the strange things out there to eat. "I'll take your word for it."

He asked "is that your bending at work? With the steam?"

"You should," Katara said, "But the actual food won't last forever, so you may be finding out about the slop later. but I think you'll like Matt, and you definitely should visit the Magic Bus. With your martial arts and your magic, I think you'll really like it!"

She said this unflinchingly, letting him know that she actually DID see him use magic, but not in a way to rub his nose in it: she thought magic, after all, was still pretty cool.

Here, Katara waved her hand. "That's really the least that I can do, but its a part of it, yes."

Negi grinned and rubbed his head. "You saw that huh? I'm just a normal kid without my magic really."

And it was true. While coordinated, he was nowhere near as full of reflexes as he was as a normal kid.

"I'll definitely look things up."

"Then your magic is your strong point along with being a gentleman," Katara said plainly, grinning. "Besides, nine times out of ten on the ship, everybody has some kind of training or inner strength that makes them special. You're no different. I'm sure you'll be able to do great things...you might even want to join the Magical Defense section on the ship! My friend Nanoha is the commander there."

She stoked the fire a bit. "So...not to pry, but did you leave anyone special back home?"

Negi reddened at the question and he rubbed his head. "Well um, I have my students, all of them are precious to me but um..."

Thoughts of Yue, Nodoka, Asuna and others flickered through his head. "Maybe... I just haven't figured out what love is yet, other than family love."

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