trans_9 | Finally some roomie tim-whoops.

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Finally some roomie tim-whoops.

It had been an arduous few days. Between the situation with people losing memories and then the people coming back from the Ohm attack, Kaya had been pretty busy. She hadn't even left the med bay, preferring to sleep here instead of back at the Outsider's hotel. She knew she had already missed quite a bit due to this: sessions with Chase, the upkeep of the hotel, and general having fun time, but priorities were priorities. Now that she had some time to herself though, she was hoping to spent some time helping her roommate decorate and at least have some general fun: Alex, after all, had brought all of those interesting black light things, why not put them to good use?

She walked up the stairs of the hotel, making a beeline straight for the hotel suite. It was one of the good things about not having to be alone: it didn't matter that Alex was a boy, at least he was SOMEONE she could talk to on a daily basis. Besides, she had those sliding doors now, so they could respect each others privacy.

But then she reached the room and opened the door, and saw all of his things were gone, specifically the laptop he prized so much, and she knew he had been podded. She closed her eyes a moment, slowly counting to ten, tears springing to her eyes.
Of course.
She took a breath, then wiped her eyes and closed the door, going back down the steps, and quietly closing the door behind her. She wanted to scream, or cry, or throw a fit at least, but none of these things would bring Alex back. So she just wandered the city park for the moment, looking tired.

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"I suppose not," Kaya said softly. "I guess I just let myself get excited. The last few days have been staying put in the med bay to help with the confusion, and before that, I've just felt very alone, that's all. Alex as a roommate wsa a way of forgetting that."

She looked a litle confused. "Emerald Dream? What's that?"

"Lonely..." he repeated, turning his gaze away. "That is the worst part..."

His voice trailed off but after a moment he looked back in her direction a smile on his lips again. "I thought you had a lot of friends; you could spend much time with them. And if not, you could avoid loneliness with Fontaine and I, though I would say we are not the most 'exciting' people to be around."

Nokosi considered her question, trying to think of a way to explain it to someone who knew nothing of Azeroth, or the powers that resided there.

"It is the realm of one of our dragon aspects, Ysera the Dreamer. It is a spirit world that mirrors our own where many of the denizens of nature reside. My father once told me that he and the other druids spent time sleeping there and that is how they were able to gain their mastery over nature."

"I haven't been able to spend much time with anyone lately, to eb honest," Kaya admitted. "To be honest, most of it is either in med bay or traning, the former being most important. Alex as a roommate would have been a dream, honestly: we were so looking forward to what we'd be able to do together, you know?"

She sighed. "No, you guys are great, actually. I know I won't be lonely long, I just would have liked somone close, around. I guess maybe I'm still not used to getting over those two years as much as I thought."

Well, that distracted her momentarily. "Have you ever been there?"

"Then your solution to loneliness is simple, is it not? Find another roommate in which you will be able to complete you and Alex's goals. Then you will no longer be lonely and you will have done something to remember Alex by."

After a beat he shook his head, causing a soft jingle with the motion. "I have not. I am told that only Druids are allowed to enter the Emerald Dream and unfortunately, I do not have the combination of traits necessary to be a druid. Turning into a Saber cat would have been very fun, too."

"That isn't as simple as it sounds, though," Kaya said. "There aren't a lot of people I would feel that comfortable sharing a room with. Alex was not only special, we both respected each other and had our own space, you know? Now that he isn't here, I don't know who would be sharing that space with me in the hotel suite."

Kaya looked at him questionably. "Well, I'll admit that I know very little abut being a druid obviously: I don't know the first thing about them. But what prevents you from being one?"

"Other than physical limitations at the time, I do not think I have the deeper understanding of nature that's necessary or the connection. Also I think that I would get very antsy if they asked me to sleep in the Emerald Dream for years at a time."

Nokosi stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, a puzzled look on his face. He simply stared at her, unblinking as the awkward seconds ticked by. Leaning forward, the elf wrapped his arms around her and embraced her tightly.

"Cheer up," was all he said as he released her.

"I don't think it would suit you, I guess because I sort of see you as a free spirit anyway. But I wouldn't want you to sleep away in the Emerald Dream thing, if it meant that we wouldn't get to see you for a long time."

Then he reached over and hugged her, and Kaya froze a moment, astounded. The last thing she expected was that sort of physical contact from Nokosi. Billy of course, and any of her female friends, but not him. For a moment, she hugged back, letting a few tears out. They weren't ones feeling sorry for herself, but rather a reminder that she was still surrounded by people who cared about her, who would attempt to make her feel better when she was feeling down.

When he released her, she wiped her eyes, managing a smile.

"You're not exactly the best at this, are you?"

Nokosi looked thoughtful for a moment before glancing down to Kaya. "I think that is the definition of an 'understatement'. I have gotten some 'practice' on Ronnae over the few years as she is prone to feeling down, but I have realized that the things that make one person happy do not always make the next person happy."

He shrugged, "And so the best I can do is guess at it or try the things that make me happy; both of which are rarely the correct choice."

Kaya smiled. "I appreciate the though, but I'm a little different from Ronnae. Still, a hug is always appreciated, wherever you go. If its one that has good meaning behind it, it has a way of making things better, I think."

She laughed. "And what usually makes you happy?"

"Oh, many things. Hearing a good story, playing or listening to music or other sounds, talking to my animal companions, climbing trees, adventures!, playing in the snow, sleeping under a tree, running around in the rain, rolling in leaves or down a hill, taking a bath under a waterfall, having a cup of tea, hearing the answers to my questions, alchemy!, picking herbs and flowers, getting my hair brushed, learning something interesting, taking a long ride."

Nokosi took a large breath, slowly exhaled then turned to look at Kaya, a smile tugging at his lips. "Many things."

Kaya laughed. Really, it was pretty hard to stay depressed when there was someone like Nokosi around. She figured this was why Ronnae had always been so happy to be around him: there was something about him that was infectious, it reminded her a lot of Aang, the memories of him Katara had, anyway.

"Maybe I've been thinking about this all the wrong way. After all, the last thing Alex would want would be me depressed and crying. He cared a lot about what happened with me. The least I can do for him is give him a smile when I think of him, keep him around in my thoughts, express him when I dance."

"Exactly," he said, placing his hands on either side of her face. He pressed his thumbs against her cheeks, pushing her face into a number of silly expressions.

A criticizing brow was furrowed and a bit of his tongue stuck out of his mouth as if he were working hard on some bit of art or other crafting. Nokosi moved her face slightly with his hands, altering her face until there was a rather forced but goofy smile on it.

"There," he finally said. "A worthy smile, I'd say."

Kaya had no idea what on earth Nokosi was doing, but for whatever reason, she went along with it. Her face was contorted into several weird expressions, and she actually crossed her eyes at one point, she looked so confused.

"You are, by far, one of the oddest males on this entire ship," she said with an obvious hint of warmth. "But yoiu actually are making me feel better somehow. Still, with all you described, I can hardly believe you don't have the makings of a druid."

He pulled his hands back and scratched at the stubble on his chin in thought. "Missing something special, I suppose or nature doesn't think I'm worthy enough. But I'm happy being a Hunter, even if I can't be a Sentinel," he said with annoyance.

Kaya looked a little skeptical here. With all that Nokosi had described, along with all that he said of the attributes of a Drud, it would seem to be a pretty obvious choice. Maybe it was just one of those things she wouldn't understand because she DID come from her own world. That tended to happen a lot.

"You seem pretty worthy to me, but then I'm not nature," Kaya said. "What's a Sentinel?"

"They're this elite group of Night Elven fighters made up of archers, huntresses who ride on huge nightsaber cats and hippogryph riders! Some are guards and protect different villages and others protect the forests from invasions and such. The group is as old as most Night Elves can remember, I was told; which is saying something since our leader is older than ten thousand..."

Nokosi's words trailed off then he shrugged. "But only women are allowed to join," he explained.

Kaya raised an eyebrow. "In my eyes, that's pretty progressive! Where I'm from, its usually men who would be doing things like that. Then again, I'm from the Northern Water Tribe, and we were fairly restricted to what we could do, as opposed to our sister tribe in the South. It might be why the Fire Nation was so adamant to stamp them out first. Anyway, I'm sure that you will make your mark in some other way: after all, its not every day you get involved in a war to save other planets, right?"

"I would say the same about Night Elves, though. Only women could be Sentinels and Priests of Elune and only men could be Druids. It seems in the last century and a half that I was generally separated from the majority of Night Elven society, that has changed some. I see no problem with our traditional ways of women being the providers and men being the caretakers; I look forward to it someday. But from what I've gathered that is odd in comparison to many cultures, anyways."

He only shrugged at her comment, "I suppose but I am not interested in 'making my mark' as it is. I wanted to be a Sentinel because they were protectors of the forest, although I did not agree with all of their ideals. I did not actively try to eliminate the Orc presence in Ashenvale until both sides decided to start an all-out war."

"Well I want no part of that unless I want to do it myself," Kaya said. "I refuse to fulfill any role just because its the accepted way of being. I want to provide and be a caretaker. What is the point of doing one over the other? It just makes it so much easier for invading people to subjugate you if all you are is a caretaker. Besides, if I am alone, I want to know I can take care of myself."

And Kaya had heard enough tales about the Fire Nation to ever let that happen.

"What were some of the ideals that the Sentinels had that you didn't like?" Kaya asked.

"Hm..." he said, thinking over her words. "That is just the way things are; they have always been. Perhaps you think that just because men are delegated to the role of caretaker that that is all that must become of us? There are plenty of other things they could do; they were not barred from being Mages, Warriors, Hunters or Rogues. They did those jobs just as well, along with caring for their family."

The elf paused and reached up to rub his stubbly chin. "By the way you speak, I think I understand what you mean now. It was different for us. Though there were certain roles that we fulfilled in our culture, our say in things did not matter less simply because Elune spoke to her priestess, none of which men were. We were never second-hand citizens; my understanding from when I was a child and all that I know from now and from our history is that men and women worked as a team."

"Men did things one way while Women did things another way and we all respected each other accordingly." He shrugged, "I do not mind being a caretaker even if it is a role I am simply 'fulfilling just because it's accepted'. There is nothing insulting or degrading about such a position and if you are allowing someone to control you when you are the one who who keeps the lives of everyone in your household running, then perhaps one needs to stand up and say something or let the see how they fare when you are not in the picture."

Nokosi glanced to the side and shook his head slightly, "I would be honored to care for children one day and doing so does not stop me from being...me," he simply said. "But in any case, the Sentinels were very blinded by their love for nature. They blame an entire race for the actions of a few and then made things worse by refusing to work on some type of truce or trade agreement. I do not agree with what has happened to my home simply because both sides were too foolish to be reasonable."

Kaya nodded. See, that she could certainly get behind: it seemed like things were at least a bit equal in their culture. Now, of course, she felt foolish in jumping to conclusions so easily. It was only because Nokosi was who he was that she didn't get a reprimand from him, which she would have rightfully deserved.

"I apologize for sounding so charged," she said, "but things were a certain way in my tribe, enough so that I had to leave it. I never stopped loving my people, and they are the reason I am who I am, but there were some things they wanted me to give up that I couldn't. Truthfully, even though I ran from being their conceived notion of what women were supposed to be, I kept certain things. I still watch over certain people on the ship the way a mother or a sister would. I...I still hope Sokka can treat me like a friend, a close one, even though we aren't siblings. I guess things like that don't go away, no matter who you are."

But at what he was saying about the Sentinels she could only sigh. "Many of the other nations thought the same about the Fire Nation: we saw them only as oppressors, people who sought to destroy everything good about the world. The truth was there were politicians and military people who played the biggest part, and there were places in the Fire Nation that suffered like we did. I guess that why there are some on the council seeking to make a peaceable agreement with the Ohm."

"That's nothing to apologize for. At least to me," he quickly added. He wasn't sure why people were prone to apologize so often but he already knew that the things that didn't bother him tended to bother others.

"I can understand what you mean, from what I've seen the Human Kingdoms are the same as what you speak of for the most part. With how many people are warring though, not allowing women to fight alongside men would be fairly silly. Ronnae once told me that it was the same with the Horde." Honestly, he didn't see how an Orcish woman could let anyone tell her what to do. They all looked as if they could rip your head off with their bare hands.

"Peaceable agreement with the Ohm?" He questioned, an odd look on his face. "The only agreement I could see would be death but I am not a council member nor do I care for politics," he said, shrugging his shoulders. As long as things were back like they should be, he didn't care either way.

"I guess its something even I do from time to time," Kaya admitted, "just so you know that I don't mean to offend you. You're a very dear friend of mine, and I would hate to say something in ignorance that would upset you."

She sighed. "I suppose, in a way, we didn't think we had a choice: the Fire Nation still looked at us as the last bastion of the Water Tribe left they hadn't devastated. They wanted to keep us protected, make sure we weren't enslaved like the female benders in the Southern Water Tribe. But the more I looked at my gift and abilities, the more I realized this was wrong: we all needed to do our part, to fight the fight and win or all be defeated together. That's what I think."

Kaya tried not to look it, but there was a hardness in her expression. "I agree there, and I don't think I feel comfortable trying to seek an accord with people who destroyed my planet and countless others."

"There are very few things you could say to upset me and if you do stumble upon one of those things, you would surely know so right away."

He could comprehend just why the Water Tribe kept the women the way they did; in their eyes it was seen as something necessary to protect their way of life. There was no arguing that but he also could understand the predicament that the others were forced into.

"You are right as it makes no sense to do otherwise unless you seek defeat. Furthermore...I am not sure there is a reason to wake up every day, knowing that you cannot truly live." He flexed his fingers, a slight smile curling onto his pallid lips at the sound the leather made when it was squished together.

"If I am to be killed, enslaved or defeated, I wish to know that I did so on my own path and that I spent my days enjoying all that the world offered. Living."

"I suppose, but I still want to be sure that I don;t by accident anyway."

Kaya could, to a point. She also knew that this thing of keeping women out of battle had gone on a long time, too long, not to mention those practices of being betrothed at such a young age. Like Katara, Kaya hoped to find someone she could share something special with, not just someone to marry. Of course, with all of the people she'd met, she started to wonder exactly how much of their point of view would affect her own.

Listening to Nokosi here, she understood by now that this was his nature: he was free spirited, and he let little affect him, especially while he was still living and breathing and could make a difference in the way he lived.

"I want that too," she said, "But I'll freely admit that the people I meet are a part of that too, which is why I'm sad f they leave me."

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