trans_9 | Pieces

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Pieces

It was barely living right now, and for Katara, that was never a choice she made willingly. That had alwasy been something that was thrust upon her, and in this case it was reliving Sokka being taken away again, only now it was like old wounds were reopening and new ones were appearing.

The moment she felt Renne leave it had been like a part of her had been ripped. She'd stayed in the Outsiders hotel, locked up her door and cried the whole day. She couldn't be around people then: it would have been too heart wrenching, even attempting to act as if things would get better, and she would have just burst into tears. More and more, family just seemed to be taken away from her. She didn't even have the heart to get angry, blame Stacy, rage like she had when Sokka was taken. It hurt too much, it felt like it happened too soon.

And the day after that she'd left the hotel to wander. That was all she was doing now, just sort of walking, not taking in anything anymore. Life on the ship seemed like it was a curse, and far as Katara could tell, acting like it wasn't would only make her break. So she just walked, her eyes bloodshot and her hair a mess. Her face was unreadable: it was somewhere between completely uncaring and defeated.

There was nothing to smile about, nothing to put on an act for. Family was gone, extended family was gone...was she just grasping for small, barely fulfilling pieces of happiness, until that was finallly taken away?

What then?

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Sasami, on the other hand, seemed to feel a lot more at ease. She was finally putting her own life back on track (though she needed to figure out a way to make her and Hay Lin official adopted sisters) and thus decided to wander across the ship.

However, her own wandering ended up crossing paths with Katara - someone she hadn't seen since Zokez II. Her heart sank seeing how miserable she looked and she decided to approach her.

"Katara!" Sasami called out. "A-Are you okay?!"

Katara stopped at the voice, turned and saw it was the little girl that she'd met on Zokez II. She only barely recognized her in her own quiet grief: it was hard to even manage a smile and a conversation. Honestly, she was tired, and she just wanted to curl up and cry somewhere.

"Sasami," she said, at least a little glad to see the compassionate girl. "Am I ok? No, not really. I had a frie..."

No, not a friend. That sounded casual, like they were just a random circumstance.

"I had a family member repodded. I'm not taking it well."

First Alessa with Shadow and now this. Sasami's heart sank hearing that.

Walking over to her, Sasami's arms wrapped around Katara in a hug. "I'm sorry..."

"This person was a family for me when I lost mine," she said softly. "They repodded my brother, then my friend Zuko and his girlfriend. When I was sad about this, he and Billy comforted me, and we had this bond. It was special, and...and I..."

She burst into tears and hugged the smaller girl.

Sasami's heart sank further hearing Katara's pain. She had lost so many people because of this ship and it's actions. Her embrace tightened as Katara cried, her little hands rubbing the girl's back.

"It's okay... let it out..." Sasami said, softly.

It was hard- hard enough that she never realized the danger in staying on this ship and making friends meant seeing people be repodded after you had so many memories with them. She had thought that Alex had acted very extreme after losing Luna, but she had seen her own share of grief every time someone she cared about was taken by Stacy and understood.

Who else could she lose? What if it took someone else, like Billy or...or Matt?

No, it couldn't happen, she couldn't bear it. She was strong, but not strong enough for something like that. She could feel the girl's soothing hand, and it helped a little.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to wipe her tears away, but to no avail. "When people on this ship are taken from me, I can't act like it was nothing, and Renne was special. He was one of the most wonderful and caring beings I ever knew."

"I understand..." Sasami said. "But... it's not the end. Th-they're still here, right? They're just podded. Maybe one day you'll see them again!"

Hope against hope, right? Try to give this grieving girl a chance to smile again. That's all Sasami can think of right now.

"It's hard, I know... I've lost a few friends myself, but... we have to keep going somehow..."

"That idea used to comfort me," Katara said, "though only a little. Now its not really much of a consolation. Why take people away when they're getting to know each other, when its making them stronger in other ways? What about Stacy's benevolence, her motherly caring?! Why do THIS?!"

She raised her voice a little here, some of her anger certainly showing itself on Katara's face. She was, of course, thinking specifically of Billy, who was hurt more by this. He had loved Renne unconditionally first, and Renne had trusted her to begin with because of Billy. Why didn't Stacy care about that?

She sighed, settling down. "Who have you lost?"

Sasami couldn't help but jump at Katara's anger. It was understandable, but at the same time, it was still startling. A worried look formed on her face as she did.

"I've lost two people so far... the first was Paula. She was one of my first friends here. She seemed so sweet and caring. And the other was Koishi. The way she acted reminded me of someone from home." Sasami said. She looked down a bit as she kept talking.

"It's funny. I should of had more friends than what I do now. But..." she wanted to come up with an excuse, but she knew the real reason "...I was so busy feeling sorry for myself because I wanted to be recognized and wasn't that rarely anyone wanted to come near me."

Katara felt a little bad that she didn't know the people Sasami mentioned, but even worse that she had gotten so upset. It wasn't like her to let the worst of her emotions get the best of her: if anything, thanks to her BG training, she had learned to get a hang of such negative emotions.

"Sorry," she said. "This is not me at my best. I just have no real way of containing this frustration, I spend most of my time trying to help others when I can, but when they get taken from me after I care about them, I just feel so lost."

She stopped here though, listening to Sasami. "I can't see that. There are quiet a few children on the ship, and you and Vita are the friendliest I've seen. That, and well, you're kind of dating a boy I consider a younger brother who's really strong. If he was drawn to someone like you, it shows he has some sense!"

Sasami couldn't help but giggle at Katara's compliment. It was true, she was pretty nice... when she wasn't moping (something she was striving to fix big time).

"Well... I'm glad I met Negi. I'd probably be in a bigger rut than I am now if I didn't have him..." she said. She shook her head to get that thought out of her head. "But, I know he'll be there, no matter what."

Her hands reached out and took Katara's giving them a squeeze. "You... want me to stay with you for awhile?"

"Of course he will," Katara said, temporarily forgetting her own pain. Katara WAS still a mother when the feeling struck. "Negi sometimes does dumb things, but at heart he is a special boy, and deserves someone equally as special to look after him. Someone like you, I think, is a good match."

She sighed. "Yes, honestly," she admitted. "I'm feeling pretty horrible, and it'd be best not to bother my boyfriend like this."

After saying that, she blushed. When the HECK did she start thinking of him like that aloud?!

Sasami's blush deepened as she admitted how much she felt she and Negi deserved to be together. She made a mental note for the two of them to spend more time together...

She couldn't help but giggle at how Katara reacted over what she said. "Sounds like you have someone special, too... but I understand not wanting to bother him."

She looked around her surroundings a bit - Katara needed somewhere to go to relax and try to get her mind off of everything for a bit. But, where? Awesome Land was probably too much to handle, so, how about the next best thing...

"...if you want, how about head back to my home. At the very least, you can relax a bit..."

She really hoped they did actually. Negi was a good fit for Sasami and vice versa. With all that Negi had gone through, she though the young boy deserved to ave someone who cared about him.

She smiled to herself. "Well, he's pretty special, to be honest. I fee lucky we found each other: he's actually been one of the best things to happen in the last few weeks with all of these fights and repodding. He's one of the best guys I've ever known, to be honest."

She looked a little intrigued, if tired. "Sure. Where do you live?"

Sasami smiled wider at that. "Then, I'm glad you found him, too... we all need someone special in our lives..." she reached over to hug her once again, before turning and pointing to the large tree in the middle of the City.

"There! That's my home!"

"Matt is pretty amazing," she said, glad to say his name aloud. she hugged the small girl back, and was momentarily left speechless when viewing Sasami's home. She'd been expecting one of the quarters, even a place on the W.I.T.C.H. bus, not this.

"Really?!" She said, momentarily flabbergasted. "What made you choose this as your home?"

"Silly... that's my home in my world. The Royal Palace of my homeworld, Jurai." Sasami said, matter-of-factly. "It gets lonely there, though. It's so big and I rarely have any one around...!"

"Oh," Katara said, wondering why she hadn't noticed this place before. She guessed it was because she had been so focused on the Outsider's buildings. "It's so pretty. You have a wonderful palace."

She should have said this, but it WAS Katara. "I'd be happy to visit you if you'll have me. tell me, what other friends have you made?"

"Hee~ Thanks, Katara...!" Sasami said. "But... other friends here? Well, besides the two that got sent away and Negi, there's Reinforce... the tiny one, that is! And... there's Alessa." There's a bit of hesitation there. She certainly thinks she's Alessa's friend. Alessa, on the other hand? She opted to skip Hit Girl - that was more or less a friendly rivalry of sorts. "Oh, and there's Vita, too...! And, ah... there's Hay Lin and... ahh..."

Her face dropped a bit. "I don't think I really have any more...

Eva doesn't know Renne's gone. For her, it's a normal day on Stacy, or as normal as Stacy ever gets - spend a bit too much time in the Media Library, wander around the Sensoriums, and consider pounding the pavement for a job. Or pounding the flesh, but that just sounds deeply unfortunate.

"At the very least I could use my now encyclopedic knowledge of Neruda to win Jeopardy...it's so easy to fall in love," she mutters and sings to herself as she walks, snapping her fingers habitually.

The last decade of her life has done an excellent job honing her observation skills, so even when thinking out loud she's very aware of her surroundings. And of the unkempt hair and bloodshot eyes of the young-ish girl she's passing in the hallways. That maternal instinct to comfort takes over. "Miss? Are you alright?"

She smiled, listening to the ones she mentioned. "Oh, I've met Reinforce, she's really sweet! Alessa I don't know too well though, but I'm pretty sure I know where she lives. She's in that dark part of the City, I think. Why do you sound unsure though?"

Vita she liked, and smiled at that. "She's pretty neat! Hay Lin...oh, yeah, one of Matt's friends. I'm actually still hoping she and Irma don't hate me when they see me."

She frowned. "I'm sure there are more if you think about it."

"Just... the way she acts." Sasami said about Alessa. "I consider her a friend, but sometimes I wonder how she sees me. She doesn't see others like we do and it worries me sometimes. Maybe one day she'll finally start being more accepting."

She chuckled a bit, hearing her worry about Hay Lin and Irma. "Oh, I'm sure they won't be mad at you! 'Sides, Hay Lin's real nice!"

She nodded at Katara's last comment. "I know I will... and I just need to make some new ones..." She smiled brightly as she took her hand. "C'mon, let's head over to my home!"

Katara hadn't really been expecting to run into anyone, certainly not when she had her head down and was trying to mind her own business. She had an idea she might attract a lot of attention if she were crying her eyes out and was making a big deal about it, so she chose to at least attempt to keep it to herself...so much for that.

She stopped and turned to the speaker. It was a pretty woman, someone who reminded her a little of the people that trained her in the Bene Gesserit arts with the look.

"I..." How did she answer that question? She felt horrible, but she was trying not to make herself look like some kind of attention seeking child. "I lost a friend on the ship. We had a special bond, so I'm just trying to calm myself."

There. Straight to the point and not at all drawing attention (she hoped). "It's not working like I hoped, I guess."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Lost as in...?" That word's got a lot of connotations, ranging from dead to distanced, and even 'dead' can be a variable. Eva's face, usually tense and slightly harsh with vigilance, softens a bit. "Things rarely do. Life's a pill like that."

Katara thought a moment. "I don't know a whole lot about demons, to be honest, but I have talked with Overlord Zetta, a demon. With them, showing affection and friendship isn't something they usually DO, but they can in their own way. I guess with that Alessa girl, I don't see her having a lot of friends on the ship. Why talk with you unless she wanted to in the first place?"

She shrugged. Demons were all different anyway, just like people. VERY hard to figure out most of the time.

"I'm dating a guy who's girlfriend was their close friend," Katara said. "I don't doubt Hay Lin is nice, I just wonder if they would like me because of Matt. They might not want to see him with anyone else."

She nodded, and was then pulled into Sasami's home. It was weird: even when Stacy managed to do something bad, there was always some one trying to help her.

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