trans_9 | Post Mission Party At The Bar

"Well, to tell you the truth, I've actually been making family members like this since was able to move about the ship. One of the first people I met, Carol Davers, took me in as another daughter. When I remembered she'd been podded, I was very sad. The longer you stay here, make friends, well, it can either be the most amazing or the most painful experience ever. But after awhile, you get used to it."

She thought a moment. "Chi is energy, like mana, really. There are a lot of common concepts, actually, but I'm not as familiar with magic, so I'm just starting to understand what it all means. You understand, though: I'm sure you've seen similar in your world when it comes to magic."

He was silent for a long stretch of time, wondering just how many people she had met, then summarily lost, just like that. As dire as their current situation was, it was normal for all of those upon the ship who currently had nothing, to latch onto the idea of kinship, lovers and comrades.

Some amount of time had passed since Matt and Alex had been podded; a length of time he was currently unsure of. Was she still upset about it or had she come to terms with it? Did she really like working so often, or was she like Nehaalista, who made sure she busied herself when she didn't want to deal with emotional distress?

Ah, he was doubtful on his ability to figure out how she was feeling with all the emotional complexities involved in a situation like that.

Nokosi hopped his chair over beside hers and slid a long, lithe arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side-hug. "It is a very bittersweet feeling, yes? I prefer to focus on making it more 'sweet' than 'bitter', though."

With their current closeness, he almost laughed at the amount of liquor he could smell on her. Far more than he could drink, he was sure. "I see. Is it some form of energy that is produced by one's body, or is it taken from the world around them?"

Kaya, totally lost in her thoughts about nursing and all, had not expected Nokosi to bring his chair over to hers, and definitely had not expected him to hug her out of nowhere. It was at this point she was happy to have been drinking the mead: now her face was flush and she could simply blame it on the drink, not on Nokosi being so forward.

"I b-believe its a little bit of both," Kaya said. "I never stopped to think about it, but whenever I DO use my artifact, I don't really feel drained myself, not really. There's a little bit of a strain, sure, but mostly I just feel relaxed and energetic. Then again, I do feel a little different when I'm channeling my artifact anyway."

He pinched her reddened cheek but didn't question it further.

"And when you are bending? Do you expend the same type of energy, then? I have thought a lot about the sources that allow the manipulation of the elements when there is no magic involved or making pacts with the sentient creatures that represent those specific elements. It is a very difficult idea for me to wrap my head around, I admit."

She really should have asked him about that, but let it slide.

"When I'm bending, its different somehow. Bending is something you're born with, so doing it comes more natural: once you know your element in that way you tend to mimic it. For waterbenders, living in the Poles, we are surrounded by water and so we take the talent we have and improve on it: we learn the flow of water, a defensive art form, and make it an offensive one. As I said before, half of is is the martial art itself, the other is knowing and learning the techniques you need. You need the water, and then you need yourself."

"I see," he said, even though he was still rather confused on the matter. "So one must not only have the innate ability to do such a thing but they must also master a certain set of moves that go along with said ability?"

That did help explain things a bit more clearly. It also meant you had to be privileged by being born a certain way to make something that grand of yourself. It must have meant that the highest positions were most certainly held by benders or they had several at their disposal.

"Are there any other sorts of mystical abilities that exist in your home world, or does it begin and end with benders?"

"Well yes. Bending is one thing, but if you don't how to use it, like magic or fighting, you won't be able to do much with it. It's like flexing a muscle in a way."

Kaya thought a moment. "Bending is pretty much the extent of what humans can do, but as you recall, we learned those abilities either from animals or things in nature. There are different subsections of bending too, like swamp style bending or sand bending, but most other powers go to animals. The strongest human being in my world is the Avatar, who can bend all four elements. Obviously, there are spirits and ghosts too. Isn't that the way in most worlds?"

Nokosi leaned back in his chair but didn't relinquish his casual hold of her. His lips pushed up in thought as he mulled over the new information he'd been told of; information that cleared up a lot of things he was formerly unsure of.

"Avatar?" He'd heard that before...he thought. Wasn't that..."The one you were in love with before Matt? Or thought you were. Ah...a...eh...Aang? Yes, that sounds fairly right." Smooth.

"That the most powerful person in your world is barely an adolescent," or at least it appeared that way to him. "Must be a testament to his skills and capacity for learning and control. And yes, I assume that there are spirits and ghosts in most worlds. Especially with the way things have apparently been in Azeroth the last half a century or so, there are many, many wandering spirits. In my experience most of them are malevolent."

Kaya was still getting a funny feeling in her chest. She wasn't sure what to call it yet, maybe it had something to do with not having a man hold her who wasn't Billy. More than likely, it was her adjusting to the fact that Nokosi had a way about him that was a little overpowering.

"Yes, Aang. There are many reasons to fall for someone like him too: he's kind, fun loving, always wiling to help. He reminds me of you a little bit, actually. But yes, he is able to control all four elements, and he had to learn it when he was very young, younger than any of the other Avatars, because war was looming then. Katara, Sokka, Toph, and eventually Zuko were the people that helped him finally end that war. Since them he was put on this ship, and he's seen and been subjected to many horrible things. What those were know only a little about, but what I know I don't tell even Katara: she needs to hear it from him. But he's been through a lot, and yet I can see he's still kept his smile and his strength."

She nodded. "We had some malevolent spirits of our own because of the war."

"I could say the same of you; smiling through all of the hardships presented to you, much like Ronnae does. I think it is okay to be sad, angry and upset, though. There is nothing shameful about the honesty of one's emotions, even if it causes concern to those who care for them."

If she was uncomfortable, he didn't notice it. Sure, Ronnae, Nehaalista and a few others had given him the talk on 'personal space', but he somehow always seemed to forget about it or disregard it completely. At least he wasn't sniffing her like he used to do those around him. Not yet, anyways.

"It is as they say, 'what are friends for?'. In any case, the spirits can be bound, banished or defeated, though there are many, many spirits that roam different parts of Kalimdor due to the effects of the Sundering. The recent Shattering added many more numbers of various races to that as well. I think, though, I prefer the very vocal methods of exorcism that Humans and Dwarves use, compared to Night Elves."

He found the evangelical members of the Church of the Holy Light endlessly amusing.

Kaya nodded. "I do my best to help others in their times of stress: I sometimes fail to realize that not doing enough for myself could lead to some serious problems for myself. But I've gotten better there: you've seen me at my best and my worse, Nokosi. It helps to have friends like you and Billy and Ronnae. But you should know, unlike Ronnae, I don't let whatever hurts me drag me down: I at least have my outlets. Ronnae is getting stronger, but I fear what would happen if someone were to try and dominate her."

Kaya, as strange as she was feeling, tried to relax. She had to remind herself, after all, this was one of Nokosi's ways, and while she might feel like someone else were doing it deliberately to flirt, she knew Nokosi was not. This at least put her a little more at ease.

She shook her head. "You can't really do that with the spirits of my world. Sure, you can try to reason with some, but spirits and ghost are as a part of the landscape as flora and fauna are. If spirits react angrily, for instance, it is because something has maligned the land. If they act cruely, likely it is because it was in their nature. But there is always a lesson to be learned from them somehow."

"She would fall under their sway," he said simply. "She is very much of a defeatist-type girl. That, paired with her submissive nature would prove for 'easy pickings' to the right person, as it were. But it is okay because we all have our flaws, do we not? She has many people who care and watch out for her well-being. It would not be easy to succeed for those who wish to do her wrong."

When she spoke of the spirits of her world staying on the material plane, his lengthy eyebrows furrowed and his mouth slacked in surprise. "They are forever bound to your world, instead of moving along? That is..." Well really, that was just kind of sad to him.

"The many malevolent spirits that roam Azeroth seem to be as such because they generally died in a most horrific manner or were severely wronged before death. Some other spirits are simply there because they are stuck to Azeroth and can not move on by their own actions. Still, many of them beg for release. Then there are a few...a few who do not even realize they are dead."

He suddenly frowned and dropped his hands in his lap, a bit somber now. Those were perhaps the saddest cases. "Out of the many I have come across in travels, there are perhaps two stories of spirits that stay with clarity in my mind."

"well I'm not very good at falling under sways," Kaya said. "I have enough people around me that would stop me from fully hating myself that much, and even if I didn't, I had training so I'd be able to handle myself in the worst times. My teaches, especially the ones on this ship, never sought to coddle me, and I intend not to let them down."

She shook her head. "Well, most aren't. I've told you already about Tui and La, and as far as I know, they were the only actual spirits to remain in the real world. Most of the spirits live on another plain entirely, although there are ghosts, and vengeful spirits too. They sometimes remain in our world to show their displeasure at the things humans have done to places they helped beautify."

She was, however, interested in the last thing he mentioned. "Oh? What spirits were these?"

"It has less to do with hating herself, and more to do with her trusting, sometimes naive nature. Which in essence, sounds a bit silly coming from one who is routinely called 'naive'." He raised both his hands and shoulders in a shrug.

"One was a small girl by the name of Pamela. She resides in a desolate, destroyed town called 'Darrowshire' in the south of what is now known as the Eastern Plaguelands. If Ronnae has spoken to you at all about the Lich King, then you know that he and his forces decimated many, many areas in Lordaeron."

"I was surprised to see here when I was there first there, assisting the very small group of Argent Dawn members keep the scourge population low. She had red hair in pigtails and a brown dress with a sunflower on it. Pamela was very adorable; perhaps a little over a decade in age? I am not so sure when it comes to Humans." His head rolled to the side slightly as he spoke of the event like it had just come to pass.

"I have seen many spirits, but at that time I had never seen one of a child. I went to investigate. She said that she was waiting there for her father...he had gone to fight, in what I presume was the battle that the village eventually lost. Her aunt told her to sit still but 'it had been a very long time since then'. There were very bad things that spoke to her, she said, and it would ease her mind and loneliness if she were to have her doll. Apparently it kept going missing."

Nokosi laughed, but that, too was a bit gloomy considering the conversation.

"Of all the things; a doll. But I, too, knew the desolate feeling that such a time alone brings. I set about to retrieve the doll, which had been torn, presumably by the other spirits in the village that attacked me on my search. She was very happy to receive it...and then asked me to inquire about her Aunt and Uncle. Her Aunt was also dead; a spirit like her. Her Uncle was devastated to learn of her death and that she still wanders the area, there."

He blew out a short sigh, shoulders sagging as he did. "After many years, she is still there. Presumably waiting for her father and other family. Perhaps she feels as if she must watch over the area? I do not know. I would have thought that a kind priest or paladin would have sent her along, but after seeing how optimistic she always is, even in her state...I do not see how they would have the heart to exorcise her."

"I don't think I'd ever call you naive, though I wonder if Ronnae would be able to take care of herself if someone from her world were to bring about some of her past demons."

Kaya was relatively strong: in most instances, she could be told things and she would react accordingly, or at least be able to hide her feelings. With a story like this, Kaya listened, and tried to formulate an answer, or at least say something, but found she was choked in tears.

"That's...so sad," she finally said. "The poor little girl."

"Ah, she is not as helpless as my words are making her sound. It would not be as easy as them attempting to talk her into such things and her going along with it; she would be thoroughly mortified, though." She could just own up to the things in her past as to suppress how big of a deal they were, but Ronnae was not that type of person, which was really the point.

"It is," he said, turning to look at the girl beside him. "But her idle chit-chat about everything and nothing; it is the type of thing that sends me on a trip to the Plaguelands every so often, despite the aversion I have to the terrible stench of that land."

With that, Nokosi straightened up a bit and lightly gripped the edge of the chair between his legs. His gaze was still locked to her face, even as he began talking.

"The other spirit; my apologies, as I cannot quite remember her name, was in Darkshore. It is a land that is north of Ashenvale, along the sea. I chanced upon a druid there while I was exploring the areas--after the Shattering, many places in Darkshore were left destroyed or the geography completely warped. This was the second time something like this has happened to that area."

"Anyways, the druid spoke to me of his lover. An elven woman with a sharp mind, as graceful as a Nightsaber, and a depth that spanned further than the lengths of the Great Dark Beyond. She lived in Ameth'Aran and they were as meant to be as the Moon Goddess and Malorne."

He smiled at the comparison, but continued the story despite the lack of knowledge she had on the things he spoke of. "During the War of the Ancients, Ameth'Aran crumbled and was left in ruins. Whiteclaw's lover died along with all of the others. With a heavy heart, he told me, he went with Malfurion into the Emerald Dream where they, and many other druids went into a deep sleep for many years."

"He told me that during his time in the Emerald Dream he had many vivid nightmares involving her spirit. It haunted him, he said. Those druids that slumbered recently awoke--after ten thousand years of hibernation."

Nokosi raised his eyebrows slightly as if he was appalled by the number as well. Ten thousand years of uneasiness, uncertainty, despair...only to wake up from the Dream and find himself in the ruins of Ameth'Aran. He saw her spirit there, he told me. She aimlessly wandered the ruins and he wished her spirit destroyed so that she would be freed, but he lacked the heart to do such a thing."

He dropped his head slightly and licked at his chapped lips. This was always the part that got him; the one that made his chest tighten and brought on the sniffles. Sure, to some it would be considered 'silly' and he most certainly wouldn't be considered 'masculine' for doing so, but he easily could care less than was usually required.

"Whiteclaw had someone else do it for him. When they returned, they brought with them an amulet that belonged to her. He questioned that perhaps it would have been better if he did it himself, but could not bear the thought of raising a hand against his lover. As soon as he opened the locket, her spirit appeared before him. He was confused, he said. He questioned if it could truly be her."

"The spirit told him that yes, it was her despite how cruel the ages were to them. He asked her then, if she hated him for having her spirit be destroyed; he only wanted to free her so that she would not be bound to this world any longer. She told him..."

There it was. Every time. Every single time he retold this story, at this particular spot his eyes always glossed up and were stricken with a dream-like haze. There may have been a sniffle, too.

"She told him that no, she did not hate him. He freed her and for that she loved him all the more. At that point he told me that she began fading; her ties to Azeroth were weakening and she was being pulled along. He was distraught, as you might imagine. Whiteclaw begged and pleaded with her to stay with him; he questioned just how he would be able to face the ages of the world when she was not by his side..."

His words trailed off as he rubbed his face with the back of his hands. "He said the last thing she told him was that they would meet again and that she would love him always."

Nokosi sighed and glanced at Kaya. "Ten thousand years. Ten thousand years. Can you imagine? Ten thousand years as a spirit, waiting in the ruins of a city for your lover to return. Ten thousand years of dreaming of regret for things that passed. Waking up and still having feelings so true, so pure and with such strength for another person? Such loyalty, even when he knows that he is poised to face the next few thousands of years without that one person that was his sky above, earth below and everything in between."

Nokosi pushed a few locks of wayward bangs from his face, and though his lips quivered at the threat of actual crying, he still maintained a bona fide, sincere smile. Such raw feeling of...well, any emotion, even anger, tended to get a rise out of him in some form or another.

"There are few people in the world who could say they had a passion for something or someone to such an extent. It is a glorious thing, no? Despite all of the negativity and heartache involved with it...I still cannot help but think that such a thing would have been worth having...and experiencing, despite how fleeting their time together was."

The other story, no less heart wrenching, still had its own glimmer of hope in it, one that she understood more than most. Of course it was sad: star crossed lovers who would never meet again, no one dying like Romeo and Juliet, but one living for years, asleep and then awaking to the doomed reality of not having the one loved most by their side? It was heart wrenching, and it was something she co0uld feel the pain of herself. For a moment she thought of poor Aang, stuck in a sort of sleep, awaiting the day that Katara would be brought back to him. She recalled the pain she inadvertently caused him, her love of Matt a dagger in his heart.

And she remembered her own torch. She could tell herself it was Katara's feelings all she wanted: for a long time, they had sustained her, with every passing of a person to pod, with every hardship she had to deal with. And it was something only she understood, something she could experience by herself. To some, it might have felt like a release, knowing she had never been Katara anyway, that the true Katara was here and all was right. The truth was, with all the pain it had caused her, it had been a blossoming of something true and good in her, the existence of love carried for a long, long time for Aang even if he had not been the one.

It was a heady feeling, one she thought of now and again and was ether filled with a quiet emptiness or a longing for the feeling of tenderness and love to come back again. But that was in due time.

And this story, she could feel the love between those two, the loneliness of knowing one was released while the other was not, the years you would live without being able to touch that person you loved. A log time wanting, unfulfilled. But that love, it existed, it was real, and made you a part of this world more deeply than anyone would ever know.

Without thinking, she had laid a finger on Nokosi's quivering lips, and though her eyes brimmed with tears, she was smiling.

"Yes. I don't have the years of longing there, or the experience, but I understand. Love is a double edged sword. If there was anyone on the ship who gets that, it is me. It's beautiful...and sad."

"Ah yes," he said, placing his hand over her own near his mouth and moving it up to his cheek. Being touched or caressed on the face was probably the most comforting thing he could think of. Ellistree had spoiled him in those regards.

"He asked to be alone with his grief, and though I am one to usually 'not catch the hint', as it were, I could do nothing but oblige." Nokosi closed his eyes and nuzzled his cheek into her open palm. "I have not met too many spirits that are so very forthright with their stories, but I am grateful for those they have given. It is as you said: they have much to offer through their experiences."

The hairs on the back of Kaya's neck stood up, but she tried to look casual about this touch anyway, smiling over at Nokosi. This was probably another way he showed affection, so she knew not getting overly excited about it was probably for the best.

Even if she did like it.

"There are some experiences, as bittersweet as they are, that have to be known," Kaya said. ":Love, to me, has always been something very powerful, and it isn't always nice and forgiving and sappy like people might think. Sometimes you have to fight with everything in your power to keep it, and in the end it might even hurt. But that she stayed a ghost that long, and he came back to her, is proof that even death can't part those feelings."

And she brought her pointer and thumb to smooth over his cheek.

"So I have been told by some. 'The pain of heartbreak is worth having', I was told. 'Once you have hit the absolute bottom of emotional pain, you then have something to gauge all other pain by, and you realize that really, everything else is not so bad in comparison.'"

He laughed suddenly and shook his head gently. "I will admit that those who frequent the taverns and bars are not known for their wisdom, but there is just a bit more to the 'local drunks' than tall tales and visions of grandeur. I will admit I do like the tall tales the best, though."

The corner of Nokosi's lips rose in a smile at her simple caress. Ah, it felt nice and brought back a slew of memories that he was only too happy to have popping up in his mind.

He brushed his fingers back and forth over her smaller digits, encouraging her to repeat the action.

"I think that people who go to bas for that reason do it because they're looking for a balm, for a time," Kaya said. "It's never easy to lose people you care about, and on that level, he lost a lot. Human beings, well, anyone who loves really, they need to find a way to escape that pain a little. Tall tales are nice and all, but they are a little easier to tell."

Kaya blushed a little, but brought her hands to his cheek again, smiling. "You;re a very tactile person, Nokosi."

"Oh yes, but that is the point. I like them because truth in Azeroth is generally far stranger than fiction. There is no real need to tell such tales, but those of bravado, heroic saves and stalwart saviors tend to be highly amusing." The Dwarf, Orc and Gnome who claimed to save Desolace from Deathwing sprang to mind.

"That and I find laughter to be a most delectable sound, even more so than the noises humanoids make that are commonly known as 'pleasurable'." The pitch, the depth, the feeling that could be conveyed in such a simple action! It was wonderful, really.

Nokosi placed both of his hands over hers and focused his gaze on her before returning the smile. "Thank you. Out of every sense, I am most partial to touch. It is the one thing that I could not live without; there is much one can tell with a single stroke. It is also the one thing I found myself constantly denied when I decided to see more of the cities and societies of Azeroth. 'Personal space' is an idea that was foreign to me at the time."

Truth be told, it kind of still was.

"I think I know what you mean. There are taverns where I'm from, and although I didn't frequent them often (I was younger at the time) there were still other ways of earing tall tales. Even as a little girl I was fascinated about picking up and leaving to go see the world with all of the things I would hear. They were just a far off dream then, but that's definitely changed now."

She decided it was be best to her not to react to the aforementioned topic of pleasurable sounds and focus more on what he was saying about laughter "For some people in some places, laughter is definitely hard to come by. I really envy how you see things sometimes Nokosi It's as if people always seem to grab your attention and are an endless source of amusement for you."

She smiled. "Yes, I noticed. And for me, well, I crave human contact more than I thought. I didn't used to: in fact, I was pretty much by myself back home until I met the GAang. Now, with the idea that at any given moment Stacy could go and take someone away, I like to know people are there, still with me."

"I am no one to envy," he said. He was being neither self-depreciating or humble; just truthful. "It is not something that is seen as a positive trait for most. It is a sign of immaturity, insensitivity and the inability to take things in a serious manner."

Nokosi simply laughed and shook his head slightly. "Of course, that would really be up for debate, in my opinion."

His eyes slid closed as he focused on the sound of her voice and the feeling of her hands against his face. As much as he was enjoying it, he really needed to let her get back to her nursing studies. Soon enough.

"It is the exact reason why I became so dependent on it; that was my only window to the world when I was younger and I constantly liked to be reassured that my parents were there, as my hearing was nearly as bad as my sight back then. Speaking of."

His head tilted to the side slightly as he spoke, covering one of her hands in violet hair. "You must tell me of your childhood before you met with the Avatar and the others. I would be most interested to hear of such."

Post Mission Party At The Bar

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