trans_9 | Down by the River [Open]

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Down by the River [Open]

Mai, as always, was short of something interesting to do. The Sensoriums just made her miss her own home more than she thought she ought to and as much as she loved Zuko, spending all of her time around him was a bit much. Even for her. She needed space occasionally. Not that she would've minded his company right now. She'd been wandering around the city for a few hours, even dropped by to say hi to Sokka. So many buildings, all dead and empty. It was depressing. Well, it would have been depressing if she cared all that much. Instead, she'd regarded them as curiosities - empty artifacts without meaning or emotional investment. Like objects in a museum.

Her bored wandering had taken her back down to the river after as the hours passed, the sky overhead turned to night and back to day. That was weird. So she settled on the bank, idly skipping stones across the surface. Almost as good as knife-throwing and it gave her a bit of entertainment. Ah, life on Stacy. So full of intrigue.

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This was Zouichi's first time down to the river, and he wasn't really sure what to expect. A bunch of water, he supposed; there weren't a whole lot of free-flowing rivers left where he came from, and it was rarely quiet enough for him to actually hear the sound of water. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, exactly -- it might even be a good place to visit in the future if the monotony of the rest of the ship continued unbroken.

He spotted Mai by the bank, expertly skipping stones, and decided to approach. "Are you aiming at anything in particular, or just bored?" he asked.

"Just bored," Mai replied dryly, still watching the river roll past. She flicked her wrist, sending another stone skipping across the surface.

"There isn't much to do here."

He watched the stone skim across the water, leaving a trail of ripples in its wake.

"A lot of people here like the peace and quiet," he offered. "I take it you're not one of them."

Mai shrugged and picked up another stone, examining it. "I guess. It's just dull."

She didn't mind peace and quiet, really. It just tended to be very boring.

"The way I hear it," he said, picking up a rock himself, "We should be thankful that we've gone so long without any enemy engagement. That once our friends do make another appearance--"

He threw the stone in his hand across the water, but got either the force or angle wrong. It sank into the river with an audible plunk.

"...we'll be wishing the break was longer."

Well, maybe that would be true for other members of the crew.

Mai watched his rock sink out of sight and then flicked her wrist, sending her stone skipping out over the surface of the river. She's had a lot of practice.

"Maybe. I just want it to be over with. I want to be on a planet again."

He watched her throw more carefully this time, selecting his next missile with a little more care.

"What planet is that?"

"I don't know what you'd call it. It was home."

She shrugged and fingered another rock. "We only knew about our world."

Zouichi sent his latest stone into motion, watching with satisfaction as it dipped briefly into the river several times before sinking.

"'We'? So there are other people from your world above the ship?"

"A few."

And that was all she had to say on that subject.

"Well," he said, dusting off his hands, "If I run into any of them, I'll be sure to say hello."

"So how do you usually spend your time aboard the ship? Not throwing rocks all day, I hope."

"...I don't."

Honestly, she spent a lot of her time with Zuko or just wandering. It filled up time, anyway.

"It's all just as dull anyway, no matter what I do."

"Oh? What have you tried?"

"Everything," Mai replied dryly.

Well, not really. But everything else was boring.

Okay, he could take a hint.

"Ah. Well, good luck."

"Thanks."

Not that she sounded incredibly enthused, but she never did.

"There ARE other things you can do, you know," Katara said. She had spotted Mai here, and would be more than happy to lead her sometimes Fire Nation friend to things she might possibly enjoy. "There's an actual theme park in the City, did you know that? Also, you might even like the Hydroponics bay. There's all of these exotic alien animals down there. It's how I met Zhin here."

Zhin, for her part, trotted over to Mai, looking her over and sniffing, curious. She could tell this girl had something to do with her owner's cheerier demeanor, despite the two of them being so very different.

"What's a theme park?" Whatever it is, it sounds boring. She examines another stone and then skips it, still half-listening to Katara. She ignored Zhin. For now.

"I don't even like animals."

"Well," Katara said, "It's got all of these rides and cotton candy and bright lights and things. It's sort of like those Fire Nation festivals, except there are mechanical things you can enjoy too!"

She shrugged. "Well, I'm curious. What would you do for fun?"

"...I hate festivals."

Mai hated everything. Well, it wasn't really "hate". It was much more of a strong sense of apathy and neglect. She shrugged.

"Hang out with Zuko."

"Oh." Katara looked somewhat crestfallen at this, hoping that she would at least have found something she might like.

She looked a little bothered at the last statement though. "But...come on, you must have had fun with some things before you met Zuko, right? What things did you like to do then?"

Mai seemed to think on this for a few moments. She finally shook her head.

"I threw knives."

Katara wondered very much how Mia was like before Zuko and her dated. Not that she was giving up on Mai, oh no...she still wanted to know about the fire nation noblewoman.

"Can you show me? I mean, I know you have before but now, without, you know, trying to kill us."

"I don't do tricks," Mai replied, tone bland. "Besides, it's not that impressive."

"I never said they were tricks," Katara said, looking a little insulted. "I just thought I'd like to see them when you weren't shooting the knives at us."

She shook her head. "Are you kidding me? Do you know how few people can actually do what you do with that much ease?"

"Let me rephrase: I don't put on performances," Mai sighed. "And I know. I just don't care."

Katara sighed. "I'm really not trying to get you to perform or anything, I just want to see you do something you enjoy. I know we've talked about this before, but I hate to think that you're on this ship and feeling miserable. I know everyone can feel like that: I do every once and awhile."

Besides, if she could find something that Mai actually DID like to do, maybe she might be able to open up a little more?

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Down by the River [Open]

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Oh, derp, sorry.

No problem.

Re: No problem.

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