Morning Meditation

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

The next morning, Katara woke up with a slight headache. It could have been worse, she knew it, but she knew what would help: a morning bath. She got up slowly, petting a sleeping Zhin before walking over toward the baths, a towel in hand. She made a bee line toward the co-ed baths, taking a quick dive deep in the water, and cleaning thoroughly. It was early enough that she thought she wouldn't bother anyone, and after a wash she went straight to the hot springs, towel wrapped around her chest and down to her knees.

She settled down, breathing deeply, closing her eyes a moment. After everything, it was good to just sit, relax, take everything in. There was still so much uncertainty, and there was definitely some pain, but she needed to stay focused, needed to be what was needed, especially now. How was Billy doing, was Matt recovering from his foray with darkness? There was still so much going on, and she needed to keep focused on training and the next step with the Outsiders.

She sat quietly, breathing in, breathing out. She couldn't be overwhelmed or things would be worse. There were reasons, after all, she still kept her head high: there was still so many things to do.

Comments

[morphitudinous]

That morning, Billy departed from the Sun and Moon Twins early: partially because he wanted to bathe before an early start to the work day and partially because he didn't want to be seen leaving Ronnae's house instead of his own. It was a brisk, fairly lengthy walk to the bathhouse, but it shouldn't be too crowded at this time in the morning.

After washing, he checked the omnicom: by the relatively imprecise time-tracker, he seemed to have enough time to relax in the hot springs. Towel tied around his waist, he padded in, instantly recognizing Katara. He'd longed to see her, but would she want to be bothered? The lingering emotion he felt from her end of the bond left him unsure.

Billy decided to call out to her, hesitating slightly. "Katara?"

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Katara, as usual, felt him coming. Even with all of the emotions she'd been feeling the last few days, sitting and taking it in allowed her to gather her thoughts, and that felt calming to her, Billy had that effect.

"Billy," she said, smiling, then winced a little. "Sorry. Had a bit of 'girl time with Nura, and we may have went a little overboard. I meant to find you after you got into the city. You have to tell me everything that happened!"

[morphitudinous]

Billy looked concerned. She'd been drinking again, hadn't she? Sadly, he suspected that she'd needed the escape. He'd refrain from commenting unless it was to offer help: for now, he would just slip into the spring and sit beside her.

He wondered about her conversation topic: given what he suspected about what had happened to her, would talking excitedly about new love be the best thing for her to hear? If that's what she wanted, though, to get it out of the way...

"We completed the ceremony and spent the night together. I confessed my feelings to her, and she was receptive." He paused to look at Katara, concerned: if she wanted the mushy and romantic details she'd have to ask for them.

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Katara noticed the look and laughed it off. "Don't worry Billy, I took better precautions this time. It wasn't liquor, and I made sure we kept hydrated. It was just a minor headache, and Nura and I just needed some time to let our hair down a little."

Not that she enjoyed the beer: she was still getting used to that taste. In any case, she shook her head. She preferred hearing what was happening with Billy for the moment: she had felt depressed enough.

"Spent the night together?!" Yeah, the lack of information? Kinda needed to be rectified. Not that she didn't mind hearing about feelings, but did they actually do...that?

[morphitudinous]

That was enough to satisfy Billy. He nodded, pushing hair over his temple and thinking for a moment. How much should he say?

He definitely needed to say enough to clear up that misconception! He turned bright red, waving a hand in the air.

"Sleeping. Strictly sleeping! I wouldn't do that with her yet, we'd just decided to be a couple that night. Nothing more intimate than kissing has happened."

He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "But not everyone agrees. Nokosi told me in no uncertain terms that by participating in that marriage I became her lifemate. I'm not entirely averse to the idea, but..."

Well, this was just embarrassing.

"He told us that mates are typically expected to be intimate with each other immediately after marriage."

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

She shook her head, smiling. "Well, I honestly would have been really surprised if you had done anything like that! But I am glad that you guys still did get together do something like that together. It sounds very sweet."

She screwed her eyes. "Well, that commitment made sense on that planet, but things are bound to be different, unless you guys want it to mean it here too."

And here, she looked a little bothered. "Um, that doesn't really sound like something Ronnae would want, that you would feel compelled to do that. That should be something special. Do you two want to go to that level? Do you think you're ready?"

[morphitudinous]

Ready? That was a very strong 'no'. Billy shook his head vigorously.

"No! We're both agreed that we want to take our time. As much time as we need, just to see if it leads in that direction. As for the marriage...Nokosi said that it counts because I could have declined. Ronnie didn't want me to feel pressured, but I'm still not sure where I stand. All I'm sure of is that I want to be with her."

He sighed happily, sobering as his attention drifted back to Katara across the water. "But what about you? What happened out there?"

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

She sighed. "After I saw Aang? I sort of retreated to the outskirts of the town. We got sort of attacked, but it just turned out to be the planet's mischievous spirit or something. There were a lot of hurt feelings though, and of course some arguments, but at least everyone was mostly okay. Kate got injured, but I was able to heal her."

Thank goodness for that artifact.

"And as for Ronnae, you guys should take your time. You shouldn't have to feel pressured to do anything you don't want to do. All that will do is ruin what you guys have now. I like where you guys are headed now: no one should be rushing you."

As for Aang...he'd have to ask specifically.

[morphitudinous]

That instantly had Billy worried. They'd missed all of that? "I'm sorry that I wasn't out there to fight. We were isolated in there and it worried me. Thank goodness it wasn't worse."

He smiled just a little, thinking of Ronnie and the fun they had. With any luck there would be more in the future, but for now he had Katara to take care of.

Billy stretched back against the wall behind him, bowing his head. "When I saw you last, you were worried about Aang's return. I've felt almost constant uneasiness since then, and a strong burst of pain yesterday."

He didn't append a question to the statement, just left it out there. His eyes were sad.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

He'd yelled at Matt till some sense had penetrated through that kid's thick skull. Now it was time to see if Katara needed the same damn treatment.

And no! He didn't care that she was in the bath! In the hands of his minion, the book came in with a really, really overdone scowl on his face. "Not enough damn sulfur in the water around here."

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Katara was covered, so seeing Overlord Zetta here wasn't too out of the ordinary, except, well, did a book really enjoying relaxing in a steam bath?

"Sulfur?!" Katara said, making a face. "That smell that's like rotten eggs? Maybe I don't know enough about the types of baths demons take, but I cant possible see how that would be enjoyable!"

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"We're demons," Zetta said, as if this explained everything. "Brimstone and mineral smells are pretty common in the Netherworld. Y'know, lakes of fire? Lavafalls? That sort of thing. Hey, lava's a liquid, do you count it as fire, earth, or water under your bending thing?"

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

She shook her head. "Ok, you can say that I'm largely new to the demon world except what you've shown me. Besides, who else do you know that would want to have a bath with rotten egg smells anyway?"

She thought a minute. "I would think fire usually, but I've never tried to bend it before. You might want to ask A...ang."

She did look a little pained. "He is the Avatar."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"When did this become about other people?" the demon asked, confused. "Anyway, do I need to yell at you till you feel better again? I've been on a roll with that lately, so now's the time to get while the getting is good."

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

She sighed. "Aang's had time learning from several different bending masters, he'd probably know the answer to that question. He's here now."

There was a bit unsaid there, but she made a face. "I really cant see how yelling at me is going to help. Why were you yelling at people in the first place?"

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"...that's how I always cheer people up," Zetta said, entirely self-oblivious as always. "It's helped before! I don't see why it wouldn't now!"

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

She shook her head. "Well, some people don't really respond to be yelling! People are all different, you know!

Really, where did the Overlord come from with some of these ideas?

"How was your vacation? Who did you marry?"

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

So Ronnie had dealt with her feelings earlier, and she felt better. Now it was time to check on her friends. Having searched the Outsiders HQ to no avail, she went to areas that had water. After all Katara had said she was a waterbender, so it'd be safe to assume she was near places with water.

Billy had mentioned the baths he made while they were planetside, and after the experience in the planet's baths, she wasn't so sure she wanted to be near another public bath. But it had water, so why not check. She wore her usual hoodie and cargo shorts, having no intentions on using said facility at the moment.

Venturing into the hot springs area she notice Katara was relaxing with her eyes closed. Maybe this wasn't the best time to disturb her. She turned to walk out of the hot springs and ran right into a bucket, slipping and doing a backflip to avoid hitting anything else, landing perfectly balanced but cursing her clumsiness. She looked back with an embarrassed awkward grin.
"H-... Hey Kat-Katara..." a shy wave at the end of the greeting.

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Katara's eyes snapped open, and she turned to see Ronnae here, but in her hoodie and shorts again for some reason. She definitely didn't get that: wouldn't she overheat, being in those kind of clothes in the steam baths?

"Ronnae, hey!" She said, smiling. "That was some pretty good footwork! You didn't fall or anything! So what are you doing here? Did you want to come and relax with me?"

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

She stood straight and rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Actually I wanted to see you. I wanted to see how you were after shore leave since I didn't see you after the first drop into the planet. I was really worried."

It was hot, but again she wasn't expecting to use the facilities. Nonetheless she looked around nervously, noticing no one was around she slipped the hoodie over her head and folded it neatly on her lap. She wore a black strapless tank-top under and a long sleeved thin fishnet shirt.

She looked at Katara and smiled, sitting nearby.

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

"Well, some things came up," Katara said, trying to not sound too upset by what had happened, "so I stayed behind. Besides, I'm too young to be thinking about something like that anyway. I'm sure the both of you had a wonderful time together.

Ugh, but talking about this seemed harder than she thought. She had always talked to people all the time about Aang, but right now, it was all a reminder that she had hurt him, and just thinking about that was enough to ruin her day for several hours.

"Wow! She said, grinning. "I like that shirt! Did you get that on the trip, or is that yours?"

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

She opened her eyes wide at the way she said it and shook her head embarrassed. "I'm I'm n-not that old either! I'm only seventeen! But still!" Actually now that she thought about it... a lot of her family members had 'done it' younger than she was now... She sighed. "But yes. It... it was wonderful. I can't deny that." She blushed heavily but shook it away quickly.

She looked down at herself shyly before smiling. "I have a tendency of pestering miss Rein for clothing... It's a bad habit from my siblings. They were always at the top of every scene back home. So they always had to set the pace at what was 'hip' or 'cool' I prefer unnoticeable things that keep me from getting noticed. But... wearing something like this gives me a bit of comfort. Reminds me of them all...." She smiled warmly at Katara.

She looked at her curiously though once her embarrassment dwindled. "You had seemed so excited about the mission tho, I hope you are ok." She examined her from the side of the hot springs trying not to fall in.

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

She held up her hands. "Hey, I'm not judging you, trust me! Besides, even if it isn't a real marriage that exists on the ship, you both still felt something or you wouldn't have done this. This sort of thing really makes Billy awkward, so that he did it means he must really mean a lot to you."

She grinned. "Ok, that's pretty cool! I mean, I've never gotten to change my clothes much, since we were always on the run, but its still pretty nice! I could see how you'd like that: its why I actually wear my hair this way, and keep these clothes. It reminds me of home."

She closed her eyes. "I'll...be better. I'll just say I'm dealing with something that going to take a lot of strength in me. But with some hope, things will be back to when they were."

[ronnae.livejournal.com]

She blushes and looked down for a moment. "I hope so... part of me really really wanted to but part of me was also very scared of it all. I'm not new to doing whatever needs to be done for a mission I..... I was proudly used on some of them for the good of the war. But still. I wasn't forced on this one, and he wasn't either. And that throws a whole new bunch of doubts, worries, dreams and hopes." She let go of a breath she didn't even know she was holding, having someone to talk to truthfully with different views than Kosi was something that helped a lot.

"I miss them. I really really do. But at least, things aren't as bad on the ship as I initially thought. I've made friends, and I found... love" She blushed.

Now however she took off her sneakers and socks, pulling her long cargo shorts up higher and sat behind Katara, dipping her feet in the water by her sides. She placed her hands gently on Katara's shoulders comfortingly before starting a gentle and soothing massage. "Hope is good, and you know I'm here for you. If you ever want to talk, or need to talk, or anything anything at all. Even unwind, jus' ask me. You're a great friend and I want nothing but for you to be happy."

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

"Well, you two just naturally gravitated toward each other. That's nothing to be embarrassed about. To be honest, I really thought you two were a good match, and that whatever you started would deepen when you and he looked in each others eyes. There's real feeling there: just go with your feelings."

She smiled. "I know what you mean. I've had a lot of people that have become good friends and family here. We'll do anything that we can for you."

Katara had certainly not been expecting a massage, and took a breath, sighing. "To be honest, I'm really glad you're here. The last few days were really hard on me...the man I knew from my world, Aang, came back and found out I was dating Matt. I really hurt him."

Thank goodness for the massage: her bones had felt pretty tired.