trans_9 | Dating Advice

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Dating Advice

As of late, Katara had had a series of things change, and it was honestly a relief to pull herself back into a place where she could try and piece things together. In the back of her mind, she felt something precious slip away, and several months of training, however intact, felt a slight drop in its prominence. She could remember a base of reasons as to why she'd done it, and certainly she knew the people who had given her all the instruction there, but she felt something had changed enough to where she was grasping its purpose like trying to hold onto sand slipping through her fingers. Add that to all of the events of the last few days, she was happy enough to have gotten some sleep over at the Outsider's headquarters.

For today, she had cleared her mind and was relaxing in Irma's room: her friend was absent there for the time being and Katara decided to have a more physical sort of relaxation. The circular windows that surrounded her showed the creatures in the water, and she joined them a moment later, able to enter once you knew to push through them, and she could breath as easily underwater as if she were on land. In this ways she could look at the room before her in a different way: the musical instruments all symbolizing the harmony and rhythm, the very flow of water, and a symbol of the element itself at the door to this place. The windows surrounding the room contained water that were full of sea animals, and the wall were white and blue to reflect the surroundings. She had closed her eyes and was lost here a moment before sensing someone approaching.

Luna would just see her coming out of the water through the windows, completely dry.

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Luna closes the door behind her gently, eyes wider than usual as she takes in the room in all its unexpected glory. She looks a little harried, her feet dirty, hair tangled--she has been running her hands through it ceaselessly, effectively wrapping the curls around and around each other until it didn't look like they would ever separate again--and she searches for Katara quietly, picking at her fingernails.

When she spots her, she pauses in her step, head tilting, mind separated from her current concerns in intrigue.

Katara walked easily out of the water, almost trance-like, she'd felt very at peace in her element. That changed, however, uopn noticing her blond friend. Her eyes widened whens he saw Luna though: the girl looked quite unkept, and she also looked almost...nervous. She walked ovver to her immediately and gave her a hug.

"Sorry, I was just meditating a momoemnt, I needed it. Goodness, what have you been doing Luna? You look pretty frazzled! Are you all right?"

Luna returns Katara's hug, pulling back to smile a bit at her friend.

"I'm fine, really. Just a little anxious, I suppose. I rather wish I had shoes. And a hairbrush. Do you have a hairbrush? I never bothered learning any of the beauty spells all of the other girls at school knew--I never cared much--so I can't do much for myself on a regular basis. I feel a mess though. Which is strange, because I rarely mind either way." She pauses, takes a breath, aware that she is coming as close to rushing her words and jumping trains of thought rapidly as she ever does, also aware that she's likely a little more...well...panicked than she ought to be.

Really, it's just Hydroponics. With Alex. Alone. Why should the word "date" upset her this much? It's not different than ever, really. ...Right?

"I can imagine you're nervous!" Katara said, already reaching into a bag in the corner of the room. She may have been meditating, but that hadn't meant, after the comm messages, that Katara wasn't going to be prepared. She already had a brush and comb in hand, and she brought her hands up to bring up some of the water from the windows, making sure they pooled in her hand before bringing it up to Luna's hair: she figured getting her hair managed would go a lot easier once it was wet.

She'd also had some spare shoes she brought with her whenever she was training in Will's room, though they were more form fitting boots, though they were quite comfortable. She carefully applied a small bit of water to Luna's face, trying to get off some of the dirt.

"It comes easy to some people if they're used to it," Katara said. "Personally, I've never been the kind of girl to moon like that over boys: can't really do that on a big block of ice when all the men in the village have gone to fight in a war, you know? But I've been all around the world too, so I have a good idea. We should have you fixed up in no time!"

She brought two bobby pins from her bag to pinch some of her hair back. "You're not a mess...well, not too bad of one anyway."

Luna stands and watches, looking a little lost. The water makes a little sense to her, and she barely blinks when Katara wets her face, rubbing the few smudges of dirt away, but she's really too distracted to make much sense of anything. It's a new experience for her, being this detached mentally and physically, so caught up in the ball of butterflies twitching about in her stomach that she can't focus at all on the here and now, or even on the fact that she really ought to change dresses when she gets back to her room, as well.

"Nervous doesn't even really begin to describe it," she says quietly, continuing to pick at her fingernails, her toes wiggling as her thoughts race. "I feel like Ron looked before his first Quidditch match, and he was green. It didn't compliment his hair very nicely." She realizes what she has said, and her eyes widen. "I'm not green, am I? Merlin, that would be horrid."

She sighs, eyes drifting to the ceiling, as they are wont to do. "I never had the presence of mind to fancy anyone before. I suppose I did rather fancy Harry at one point, but he's marvelous--I think everyone has fancied him at some time or other, and not even for the things he can do, or for the fact that he's the Boy Who Lived. But Harry never really knew I existed, at least not like that." She swallows, turning pink, glancing at Katara's face. "And anyway, Alex is nicer-looking than Harry. Harry hair sticks up oddly."

Katara is still wasting no time, still continuing to sort out Luna: she started to use a very light blush to her cheeks. That didn't mean she wasn't assessing the situation though. She really like Luna and Alex together, and knew that with Luna, she had simply not been through something like this before. She knew a thing or two about blooming feelings for someone, but for now she would concentrate on making sure Luna understood what to do.

"Let's start by bringing you by with something to make him swoon when he sees you. I bought a few dresses while we were down on that other planet, and I did get something I thought you might like. I figured you might want to wear that, it bring out your eyes. But you look lovely, trust me. When he told me it was you, I wasn't surprised. Be yourself and it'll come naturally."

She smiled a little to herself. "When he's the one, you'll know what to do, and sometimes you won't. It's part of the magic in finding out."

Luna blinks at the blush, wondering if it's really wise to add more color to her cheeks when she's likely to be a warmer shade of pink the whole time already. She doesn't comment, though--she trusts Katara to do things right, considering that she imagines Katara to have had more experience at "acting a girl". Luna has always liked dresses and earrings and necklaces, long hair and pretty hair clips, but she knows nothing about picking them to look nice, and wouldn't know a color that "brings out her eyes" if it burst from the end of her wand and shouted at her.

"I was going to wear my blue one, actually, but I really wouldn't know. I'm sure yours is lovely," she says, smiling slightly. "Why weren't you surprised, though? I was certainly surprised."

Her eyes widen at that, cheeks doing that obnoxious blushing thing they've started doing recently. She finds it rather unfortunate that Katara's turn of phrase has gotten Myron Wagtail'svoice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBPGJ0daqWg) stuck in her head, the words "And don't believe that magic can die; No, no, no, this magic can't die" bouncing off the walls of her head in quite a horrifying manner. Consequently, she chooses not to respond to that comment.

Katara made sure not to go crazy on the blush for this reason: she could see that Luna would very likely be a bit redder all on her own. That was no reason, of course, not to help out there a little. Katara had her work cut out for her when it came to loking "girly": traveling with several boys and a girl who was perfectly comfortable dressing that way had made Katara all too aware of hwo she would need to look by comparison. That, and it helped to find out Toph KNEW how to dress like a girl, she just chose not to.

"In this situation, I think he might like it," Katara said, giving Luna an enthusiastic thumbs up. "But if you're wondering why I wasn't surprised...well, I just thought it made sense. Alex is very closed in, to himself: he would need someone pretty special to bring him out if his shell. You're self reliant, sweet, and think on your own terms. Wouldn't it make sense he started to like you?"

It wasn't a question in Katara's mind, anyway. "I know it sounds a bit simpering and cliche, buts its true."

"Does that mean I'm wearing your dress?" She looks mildly concerned, but seems to be calming down admirably, face easing into something nearing her normal serenity.

"I don't know. It doesn't make sense to me at all, his...fancying me...but I suppose that has more to do with my lack of knowledge than anything," she muses. "No one's ever...well, not that I ever minded. I still don't--having good friends is plenty for me, honestly."

"No, it means you're wearing YOUR dress," Katara said pointedly. "You remember when I got you that gift of a dress that last time, right? Well I needed your measurements for that, which I still have. I didn't just go shopping for myself when I looked for more clothes, you know. The only thing will be if you actually want to wear it of course."

She shook her head. "Well I can see it, but there's hardly a reason to go on about it if you don't understand. I mean, it wasn't like Alex was going to just start liking anyone, I always thought it was going to have to be a girl that was pretty special. As for your lack of knowledge, nobody gets a manual for this kind of thing. The best thing to do is just to see how he gets along with you in more relaxed circumstances. I mean, the best relationships start out as friendships, don't they?"

A smile grows on her face.

"I would love to," she says, looking pleased, though the expression shifts after a moment to something one part curiosity, two parts disappointment, and one part confusion. "Though I've grown since then. All of my dresses are too short now, including the one you gave me."

She nods. "We already have a lovely friendship, but I'd never expected it to go beyond. As far as I know, no one's ever fancied me, which isn't very surprising. They did call me "Loony" Lovegood, after all."

Katara laughed. "I know you GREW Luna! I'm not that unobservant! I figured that if I were going to get you a dress for a gift it should be something that was a little longer than what you had before. I noticed that you grew a little more, after all. So have I, when it comes down to it."

It was a shame to learn about the last dress she gave Luna, but she was sure that Rein would be able to make a dress that would suitably compliment Luna, In the meantime, Katara was sure she picked something Luna would like.

She brought out the <a href="http://cdn.overstock.com/images/products/L11303461.jpg> dress</a>, happy she chose one with designs she was sure her friend would like. "Then they're jerks," Katara replied, looking cross at the suggestion that her good friend was anything but pleasant. "If I were a guy, I know I would consider myself pretty lucky to have you around me."

"I wasn't referring to a lack of observational skills," she says, smiling vaguely. "I was just wondering how you knew my measurements after I'd spontaneously gained two years in mind and body. I suppose that makes sense, though." A pause, her smile widening at the dress in Katara's hands. "And I quite like it. It's such lovely shades of blue."

She reaches out, touching the fabric gently. "If you were a boy, it would be a bit odd. I can't quite imagine it. Anyway, I wouldn't call them jerks--just teenagers."

"I saw you in your current state...it was part of the training I was going through to keep a keen eye and make sure that no detail escaped me. Trust me, its not as easy skill to learn: took me months. I'm glad I learned it though: it'll likely help me in the future, I just wish I could remember what my teacher looked like. It's another one of those things, I guess."

Katara giggled. "I had to dress as one once, it was kinda fun. But as for them, being a teenager is no excuse to purposely make fun of people like that. If you were friends, that's one thing, but if its mean, that's just wrong."

"It sounds like it was excellent training, though I'm sorry you can't remember your teacher. I know how Stacy's handling of memory bothers you," she says, patting Katara's hand gently. "From what I can tell, it doesn't sound like she's going to be doing that anymore."

"Dress like a boy? That could be fun, I suppose. Why did you have to, though?" A pause. "Anyway, they were just having fun. I was lonely, but I find it difficult to begrudge people happiness, unless they're hurting people in the process."

Katara shook her head. "I'm still getting used to it. Actually, at one point during the Nightmare King situation, my teacher had me observing all of the people on the ship and figuring out what they were worrying about. We couldn't be completely specific, but certain feelings and impressions could be derived by gestures. But yeah, I'm really glad its not going to happen as much. It's still hard to get used to not having her around."

She shook her head. "It's a long story honestly, and I'll tell you all about it someday. But I hear what you're saying, I just don't think its right for anyone to do that, period. And if they're hurting people, they ought to be stopped. I know a bit about the kind of people that do that."

Edited 2010-09-20 03:55 (UTC)

"That would take some getting used to, wouldn't it? Surely it's improved your reading of people in good ways, though. It sounds like it was, and will be, quite useful. And personally, I'm quite glad that we were finally told what the purpose for the memory alteration was. It was quite frustrating, being left so much in the dark on such a large part of our lives."

"I'd love to hear it," she says, nodding. "They weren't hurting me, though. As long as they gave all my things back before breaks, I was quite fine with it." She pauses, smiles slightly. "And anyway, having my shoes missing for such long periods of time at school really just prepared me for outgrowing my shoes here."

She nodded. "Well, when I got on the ship, I began to notice how much stronger people were, not just with magic and athleticism, but with the way they moved their body, the way they were able to extend their limitations. My waterbending is sacred to me: its the link to my people and past, and I wouldn't be a bending master without really wanting to learn it. But I also figured I should try to go farther in training my body to become an even more capable fighter. Everyone has to start somewhere, and with all the training I learn, I can help other people on the ship to become stronger too.

After all, why learn all these ways to fight and not share it with others who needed to defend themselves?

She actually looked a little sheepish. "Well, one day Toph and I decided we wanted to have a night out, so we go to this pub. They tell us we aren't allowed because we're girls. So we cross dress and get in, and everything is going fine until I see this mechanical bull that keeps throwing the other men off. I get on and ride it longer than any of them, and honestly it was pretty fun! (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100513113437/avatar/images/6/6d/1_Katara_boy.JPG) Then those boys started to make fun of me staying so long...Toph had to drag me out of there. I was kinda going to beat them up, I got so mad."

She shook her head. "Not my best moment, but Toph and I got to laugh and bond about it later. Anyway...I'm sure you and Alex are going to have a fun time!"

As if to accentuate this, she brings out a small flower that she tucks behind Luna's ear, then throws water on the floor to serve as a temporary mirror. "What do you think?"

"Ah," she says, nodding. "That makes sense, and with your bending so rooted in your body and movements, I imagine that's made things different."

She listens to Katara's story aptly, though her expression is dreamy as usual, wide eyes blinking at her infrequently. One thing sticks out, though, in the little anecdote, and she asks, "What's a 'mechanical bull'? Is it a cow made of machinery?"

At the mention of Alex, though, she starts to looking a bit anxious again, the tiniest hint of a crease forming between her eyebrows, a key indicator of an impending frown. Still, she looks into the mirror on the ground, nodding after a moment.

"I don't think my hair's been so nice since Bill Weasley's wedding," she says, running a hand through it tentatively, rather surprised to find it entirely free of tangles. Such a rare occurrence deserves commendation, so she smiles at her friend and hugs her.

"Thank you, Katara."

"Different, and sometimes pretty difficult," Katara said. "The training I've been putting myself through has been pretty arduous. I even trained in a desert setting: I haven't wanted to go NEAR a desert since me and my friends got stranded in one. But any good training required you to get out of your comfort zone."

She laughed. "Being a wizard, that must sound pretty weird huh? But yes, that's exactly what it is. It stays in place, and what you have to do is stay on it even though its bucking and moving around like crazy. I have really good balance though, so I wound up staying the longest. I don't think they liked that."

She definitely noticed the Luna tensing, and put her hand on Luna's.

"Listen, you have NOTHING to worry about, trust me okay? Alex likes you because of who you are, not because you look really pretty or act like other girls. Sure, I'm going to try and make you look good, but its all show. What he's really going to be looking at is you!"

She smiled. "Just helping a friend out!"

Edited 2010-09-22 03:20 (UTC)

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Dating Advice

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Could you describe the dress? :D

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<3

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