trans_9 | Cranston For Hire [Open!]

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Cranston For Hire [Open!]

It was once again time for Billy to assess the progress being made in this seemingly endless war with tasks and deadlines. So far, reorganization of the Engineering department was about 25% complete. Not terrible for a day's work, but he could certainly do better. Several projects were stalled pending discussion from the involved parties. His social time and interactions with the Rangers had taken a hit due to all of this.

Though he was following his orders to take more resting time during the day and having fun with Ronnae on many of the nights, nothing stopped him from taking on more than enough work to fill the compressed schedule.

Today's work: Supervising the new structure and performing odd jobs around the ship. Repairs were going well in the hangar, Neuropathy needed to be left alone, infrastructure was busy in the City. He visited wherever he could and lent a hand to each, struggling to find time for what he wanted to do in secret: move his personal belongings to his girlfriend's house.

As Billy wandered back and forth throughout the day, a stuffed backpack always accompanied him. Throughout the day, the loaded-down teenager made trips between a number of places on the upper levels and a particular house in the City. Distracted as he was with the constant juggling of omnicom, comm ring, tools, and items, he eventually wore himself out.

Where he ended up shouldn't be a surprise: in the city park, fast asleep, sprawled across an assortment of odd items. Somehow, he'd note when he woke up, he doubted this was what had been meant by the recommendation for 'personal time'.

((ooc: The two location tags basically mean you can catch him anywhere: asleep with shiny stuff to steal or rushing back and forth between the different areas of the ship. Just make a note of where you found him.))

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Katara knew enough not to ask anything too personal. If she had learned anything at all from what transpired in the kitchen, it was that there were certain things Ronnae was not ready tyo discuss.

"Yes, please tell!" Katara said.

"That's... kinda hard really. I have plenty of fond memories from home." She looks up in thought.

"During the 7th Winter's Veil celebration I had the pleasure of witnessing, the transdimentional war in Outlands was in full blast. So most of the family was called into arms, as per usual... All I wanted that Winter's Veil was for my papa to be with me. At the very least him. I knew mama was a highly sought after expert... so chances of seeing her were worse. Papa lead a group of Paladins, a special ops group..." She pauses and smiles sadly.

"Sure I wished it, but in my little mind I already knew that what I asked wouldn't happen, but a child can hope right? Anyways, I waited that entire day in front of the portal room, specifically looking at the Outlands portal. Hoping beyond anything that they'd make it. It wasn't a matter of seeing them alive, to a child their parents are invincible, it was a matter of whether they'd have the time to..." She giggled.

"They had to bring me my meals for the day, and the presents to the portal room cause I was stubborn. I wouldn't budge, and if I was taken forcibly I wouldn't eat. Not even grandpapa could make me eat. He told me that if I truly wished for them to be here, with the amazing power of my little heart. That they'd be here. And so I did, I wished and wished and wished. Even when the night was in it's peak, I held for as long as I could." She held her locket and smiled affectionately.

"I fell asleep of course, I was little, and I've always been somewhat of a little sloth." She laughed embarrassed. "But right before midnight I felt myself be lifted, I was dreaming, a small princess being carried by a shining knight. It was wonderful, but as time went by, I noticed that it was my papa. I rubbed my eyes awake and indeed it was, and my mama was there as well. They had brought me up to my room and tucked me in. They brought me a strawberry shake and presents. They told me a story and said that if I ever felt alone, to just hold on to my present. They'd always be here with me." Her eyes were glossy but she was smiling proudly.

"It was this locket here... And later I found out. That my grandpapa took their place on the field so they could be relieved from service that week and come see me." She wiped her eyes and laughed a bit. "Grandpapa is the most amazing man anyone could ever meet... So many people owe him so much, and yet he only asks them to love." She grinned trying to play off her tears, but she was definitely happy.

Billy curled against the couch as he listened, getting drawn further and further into the story. It was the mark of a good storyteller to inspire pathos, making the listener see through their eyes. And for that while, he did. He could relate to the little girl staring hopefully at a portal, hoping her parents could return and share a special day with her. Even as old as he was, he still had those days: longing and longing to see familiar faces.

He bowed his head in thought then, folding his hands over his lap. "Only asks to love," he echoed in a whisper. "That's such a powerful request, but it should be the simplest thing in the world."

"It isn't," Katara said quietly. "Not always. Sometimes, showing it looks to change the way you look at things, and then you realize that you may have been looking at something the wring way."

She took a breath. "There was a time that I was angry at my father. He left us, my brother and I, to fend for ourselves while he and the men joined the Earth Nation. I thought I was angry at him for it: leaving us, to deal if the Fire Nation ever came back. Zuko was that once, an he is someone I call a friend."

"And later, I saw firsthand what war did: it made people weak at heart made them scared to fight back. I saw the true power of the fire nation military: they made themselves stronger by bullying, and made hopelessness a feeling that lingered in our hearts."

She shook her head. "And I saw it was hard for a father to leave his children to such a dangerous fate. But war, its a powerful enemy, and its worse feature is enslaving the young to do its bidding. It kills the spirit sometimes. My father knew the love of another day, a day without those kind of troubles: and that was why he left."

Ronnae smiled and nodded, thanking Katara for sharing, "It's something people take for granted, or don't give it as much power as it really has. I don't think there's anything more powerful than such. If you love others, and overlook differences, wonderful and amazing bonds happen. That's what grandpapa looked to do. He promoted we do such, ignore the racial differences, or political differences. Focus on the person, the people. Love them for who they where. I think that's why there's so many half-breeds in the family. Strong bonds grew into beautiful relationships and it gave birth to that symbol of unity even if the outside world scorned such unions." It was a bittersweet subject for her. She'd avoid going into detail about the other half of the story.

Billy kept his head bowed throughout their stories, a sadness overtaking him. It was true: he'd been through so much pain because he'd been close to people. At times, he'd thought living a life of seclusion would be best. He'd built a shell to protect himself and they'd demolished it.

"You're right. It's important not to lose sight of the goal---we're still at war and we will be for a long time. We ignore that at our own peril. But my pendulum has a tendency to swing too far in that direction. I've only recently allowed myself to participate in more joyous events, and I still haven't worked out a proper balance of the two."

He sighed.

"At home, the other Rangers became my life. We weren't allowed to tell our families or other friends that we were the masked warriors fighting the war, so we were forced to lie to our parents about where we'd been or where our injuries came from. That distance pushed us apart to such an extreme degree that I can't remember spending any substantial time with my family in the weeks before our world ended."

It hurt him to say that, enough that the pain was clearly visible on his face.

"But I always remembered their support and love. Keeping them alive was what I fought for, though we had a number of close calls that forced us to make no-win decisions. We kept hoping that the war would end, that we would be allowed to be close to our families again. It never happened, but that hope kept us going."

Katara could see that each of these had a profound impact on the person telling them: Ronnae had learned how to love and care for people despite others scorn, and Billy had told them how heart wrenching it was to fight a war where you barely saw your family, as it had been for her dad.

"You know, some of these stories are pretty painful for us," Katara said, "but look at the results: we all met each other. What happened to us proves that there's strength and will in each of us, and we aren't going anywhere. It used to be hard, to talk to people about things like that, but I think that if I tell them to anyone, it'll be people that matter a lot to me."

She smiled, taking both of their hands. "But that's all I wanted to say. We can totally keep talking."

She smiled happily and nodded, edging and cuddling up to Billy, holding his hand with her free one reassuringly. "Okies! Now for more stories! And no holding back afterall! We're all friends, best of friends. I'll answer any and all questions I promise." She laughed, she knew the best way to cure a downed scene was with chipper and happy notions, not that she minded, she really was happy. So maybe continuing to tell stories, both to aliviate the weight from our shoulders or to just have a good laugh, would be extremely good.

Billy looked happy enough, holding their hands and cuddling with Ronnie as best he could without any free arms. He settled for leaning on her, letting his worries seep out of him.

"Since we asked you, I believe it's fair if we answer questions."

Well, if they were going to be honest, Katara figured she may as well ask a question that she was curious about. Billy and Ronnae already seemed plenty comfortable, and she really was liking the hot cocoa.

"Ronnae, how was it, growing up the child of two different races? I'll admit, it isn't something that really comes up in my world: while there are divisions, our main one is the nation's we're from: two nations usually don't become husband and wife. With me and A...um, well, it just doesn't really happen."

"I'll leave my own questions for the end really." She laughed a bit embarrassed. "I'm a bit of a curious bug, and I'll ask all night, so it's best I go last." She then turned to Katara and listened, her face was a mix between understanding and pain, but mellow.

She looks down with a bittersweet smile. "I don't regret what I am, or were I came from. Never will. Back home, in such a fractured society... It's hard. Even within the same faction there's distrust and hate." She took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing.

"To better explain what it was like I should give you the base politics... Back home there are... were two main factions. These would war over land, artifacts, and just plain out of hate. The Alliance was comprised of humans, kaldorei which were also known as night elves, that's the race Nokosi belongs to as well. The gnomes, the dwarves, the draenei and last I heard the worgen joined their ranks. The Horde was made up of the orcs, the trolls, the tauren, the forsaken, the sin'dorei or blood elves, and the goblins joined the ranks recently." She waited a moment for the information to sink in.

"But even tho we had these factions, who fought each other constantly even when we were fighting against a world ending threat on another front, there'd be inner faction hate and distrust. In the Alliance, the night elves were mainly xenophobic, it wasn't until later years when they joined the Alliance that they slightly started trusting the 'lesser races' as they called them. Even today they don't trust their own allies entirely. The dwarves prefer working things on their own, and even within their own dwarven clans there's mistrust. I like gnomes tho, they like everyone to be honest. Draenei have an undying hatred for orcs, but they mainly have a pseudo trust within the alliance. Humans can't keep their own politics in check, there's always a noble or set of nobles plotting and planning and backstabbing, causing more strife within the human ranks and their allies. And worgen are pretty much mistrusted by everyone in the Alliance considering they were their enemies not so long ago. Only the night elves took them in warily at first."

"The horde is more vocal about who they don't trust. The orcs have a good relation with the tauren and the trolls. But the last leader was starting to segregate groups and beginning to unravel those long standing friendships because he thinks orcs should be the superior race." She sighs. "The trolls have always been friendly towards the other members but recently have gotten a lot of flak cause of their standing against the view of the last leader of the orcs. The tauren appreciate all the races, even those on the Alliance. They even have a good friendship with the night elves. Now... the forsaken they... well they hate everyone, and they don't trust anyone... but they're loyal to the Horde. And the blood elves have an immense superiority complex, and don't like the trolls because of old hatreds. The goblins don't care as long as there's profit to be had." She shook her head and sighed before continuing.

"With that being said, every single race has huge racial pride, each thinking that their own race is superior. So... anything that was mixed breed was a 'slap to the face' to the races they 'belonged' to. So the majority of the population didn't care, or tried to make your life hell. You were below the peons, and workers. You might as well been scum, a nobody and most of the time, that' how they made us feel. Not everyone hated us of course... contrary to popular belief, half breeds weren't as rare as they wanted them to be, most just hid that fact." She looked down.

"For me? ... For me it was... difficult... Not at first, not while I was home schooled. And when I was little, the stares and comments were confusing yes, but it didn't matter... I didn't feel the sting of the hatred and discrimination till I was finally let into the sin'dorei trade school..." She gripped her locket and took a deep breath.

"It's a bittersweet entry... I had begged for years that my parents allowed me to go to the same school as some of my other family members had gone to... my generation was homeschooled because of all the hazards the current wars presented... but finally my parents budged... Knowing all to well how I was the one who begged and pleaded to be let go was my downfall, cause it made me feel like if... if I said anything, I would be made to go back... that I would disappoint them, and later... it was... it was shame that kept me silent." She knew her whole body was trembling, it was clearly visible. But they were her friends and any motion to get her to stop would be met with a kind and thankful smile and a shake of her head. She trusted them and they deserved to know.

"I was... I was trash... lower than the orcs or trolls that attended the school. Cause I was neither. To the nobles I was a toy... a doll... and that's how I was treated... I was an academically excellent student... I always got high marks and participated in everything I could. But none of that mattered. The kids would play pranks on me, they'd tease and steal from me. And la--... later when I ... developed more into a woman... I was their entertainment... their doll to do with as they pleased... During those years I spent more time in a dark hallway, an empty and locked bathroom and one of the school basements than in the actual classrooms... I still managed to keep my grades." She added as if that mattered.

"They... they never went all the way... I don--" She choked, tears starting to stream down her face. "I don't know if it was luck, or they were scared there'd be too much evidence... But I feel it wouldn't have mattered... Everytime I told the teachers... or the counselor... I was regarded with disgust and ill treatment. They said it was my own fault for being half breed trash, that it was their right to use me as an object cause that's all I was. That I should be 'HONORED' that they even deign to place attention on me, to want to do these things to me... To defou---" She tried... but she couldn't everytime she opened her mouth she choked.

"I--I'm so--rry... " Her body was shaking and she was gripping her locket so hard part of had dug into her skin, making blood drip down her arm.

Billy listened attentively, his heart clenching more and more as time went on.

How dare they. How dare they treat the girl he loved like a mere object, a plaything without a personality and feelings of her own. That callous disregard, naked cruelty, violation of his Ronnae made his blood boil.

"Ronnie," he whispered as gently as he could, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

He maneuvered himself to face her, softly taking the blood-stained hand holding the locket and trying to loosen it. As he did so, he looked at Katara, a request for healing in his eyes.

"If I could, I'd tear them apart right this minute. It wasn't your fault, not ever. You deserve nothing less than to be cherished and loved as the absolutely incredible person that you are, love," Billy vowed, lifting a hand to cradle her face.

Katara knew an intimate moment when she saw one, but she couldn't make up an excuse to let be for the moment, not after hearing all of that. She knew exactly what Billy was angry about too, and though she had never been mixed, the Southern Water Tribe had been reduced to few villages thanks to Fire Nation raids. As they traveled the world too, Katara saw firsthand hoe the Fire nation military treated the other nations. They were cruel, twisted by a fire lord than preferred subjugation over understanding, war over peace.

But the worse was what those kids did to Ronnae: they took away her willingness to learn, to feel safe, all because of stupid hierarchies and their need to belittle someone not like them. It was that kind of treatment Katara hated most of all, and now she could see that THIS was why Ronnae was so hesitant about her body: they made her feel ashamed of it, they made it something dirty.

She hated them, all right, but she knew what that hatred brought too.

"Billy is right...about you needing to be cherished and loved. You're a person just like anyone else. But tearing people apart, that's the kind of thing you have to be careful of. You start out wanting to right a wrong, and then you want revenge, and that changes you. I saw a boy who had lost his parents to war fueled with such hatred he would destroy a whole village of innocent people just to kill some of the enemy."

She took Ronnae's hand. "If there's one thing you can be proud of, its that you're not like them. They may have left their mark, but well help heal that in time. The important thing is that you're still here, and still the wonderful person we know."

She couldn't speak, not for the moment. But she gave them a thankful look after she managed to calm down. It felt like she had been stabbed in the heart and after a bit the blade removed. She looked to Katara and thanked her silently, and then she hugged her boyfriend tightly. She was so thankful they were here... episodes like these usually led-- She shook her head and tossed the thoughts away.

She smiled weakly at them and took a nice deep breath. "Th-thanks. I'm fine really..." She wasn't. Not by a long shot. But it wasn't the time, or place. "A-anyways. O-other half breeds had it much easier. Like some of my older siblings or family members. They encountered their hardships when they were older instead."

"Okay okay, ummm h-how about you both, ummmm...... favorite foods?!" Yup change of subject, and a horribly non-subtle one.

Billy embraced Ronnie as tightly as possible, pressing a protective kiss to her forehead. He would keep her safe whenever possible, but...no, Katara was right. He mustn't be vengeful.

"You're right, Katara. I'm sorry. Hatred does nothing but fuel the problems in the world."

He slunk off, shyly folding his hands in his lap. "I like cheeseburgers. They're circular pads of round meat wrapped in bread buns and topped with cheese. I like to add guacamole, a pasty substance made from the avocado plant that gives it a crisper flavor."

"Hey, enough of the apologies!" Katara said, laughing a little. "We all have to face some kind of strife, but look at us: we're all promising young men and women, perfectly capable of making our own decisions and masters of our fate. We apologize to no one!"

Ok, the last part wasn't true, but still!

"Where I'm from, we have seal blubber, fish and different soups. Oh, and sea prunes are pretty good too! But I think you guys might have a more interesting taste in food. You're sort of limited when you live in the South Pole."

This conversation went a pleasant way and she couldn't help but giggle.

"I know how to make burgers! Hmm but I wonder if the preparation was the same as your world. We had different toppings and such, but still used cheese and other things. As far as snowy region foods, we had clans who lived in such and had their own cuisines! Really tasty ones like Jormungar burgers and seal whey shakes.... Those I never got used to, but some of my troop members looooved the stuff. I myself prefer ummm meat... lots and lots of it... " She looked away embarrassed. "We always had really big meals... after all the family was great in numbers... So those with a bigger appetite... " She stopped there, she could feel her face growing hotter and hotter, and her mouth generating an embarrassing amount of saliva... what was that tummy? You're hungry now? Too bad! You embarrassed yourself enough as it is. She turned her face away and laughed awkwardly.

Billy smiled at the listing of all the foods Ronnie knew of. It certainly sounded like a feast to remember. When her memory turned into embarrassment, he frowned and leaned over to her.

"It's okay, Ronnie," he whispered in her ear. "We can find something to eat. I can't promise that it will be fantastic food, but talking about it does tend to make people hungry."

"Hey YOU, no secrets!" Katara said aloud, laughing. It actually all sounded pretty good, and despite subsisting on mostly fish, she did like her share of meat, although Sokka's love of it was pretty insatiable. Katara saw no reason for Ronnae to be bashful.

"That all sounds wonderful," she said, grinning. "My mouth is watering just thinking about it! The next time that we go off world, we should totally make sure to grab different types of food."

She blushed and gave a quick nod, trying to avoid their gazes.

"That'd be pretty awesome. Maybe eat at one of the local stores."

She held Billy's hand for comfort and tried to get back the normal color of her face, hopefully it would go back to normal soon!

Billy held her hand loyally until she calmed down, smiling. "Trust me, Katara, you'll want us to keep some secrets from you."

What on earth was he implying so casually? Billy laughed, awkward as ever. "But do you want to rest, or did you want to continue the interrogation?"

Now she was confused, and definitely looked so. "What do you mean some secrets? What else have you guys been up to?"

Yes, Katara, despite being intuitive and intelligent, was still lost when it came to innuendo.

"Interrogation!" Katara giggled. "What have you two been up to?"

So, the previous desire for her face going back to it's normal color? Shucked out the window as her face grew from a slight blush to full blown.

She laughed awkwardly and played with her single long ponytail idly. "B-Billy's the secret keeper! Ask him!" Only way she thought how to escape the spotlight, was shoving it at her boyfriend! Isn't grand?

Billy glared playfully at her, folding his arms over his chest in an over-exaggerated dramatic fashion. "Nothing you wouldn't expect a new couple to do," he said evasively. "Enjoying closeness for the most part."

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part two

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