generalflirt | ~♥THIRTY-SIX♥~

~♥THIRTY-SIX♥~

[Voice // Filtered to Katara (mid-morning)]
I think now's enough time, don't you think?

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[And during the bulk of the day...! Masaomi's forgone most of his training for today other than some things on his wrists. On his left wrist (the one that until very recently was in a cast) has a weighted bracelet on, one kilo. That way, he can work it without switching himself up too much. On his right wrist is still Katara's bracelet. He's also still rocking the Bradstache. BuT more importantly!

...He's here to flirt with girls. He hasn't done it in a while, he's in just the sort of mood where he wants to do it again. So if you're in town and a pretty girl, he's liable to go and flirt with you. If you're a dude, well then you can witness him doing it. React to him, stand there to be reacted to? There's a lot of ways you can roll this]

[Voice // Filtered to Gold and Silver (evening)]
Hey guys, let's go play some Mario Party. [Assumption being he told Shikamaru already]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[I was twelve when my father took all the men in the village and went to war.

He knew that already, he distantly realizes. He knew that her war started two years before her journey started because her father had left. At the time, he had pitied her, hadn't he? Pitied that she too was denied a father the way he was. But now, he realizes his own arrogance, because it wasn't the way he was. His father doesn't care about him and his mother wishes he didn't exist, he suspects, but Yori Kida still gave him money, still helped him so that he didn't starve. Her father had left them alone.

Completely alone in a community she goes on and on about every single time being a close knit group, but a group she needed to repay? A group she needed to barter he life away to for basic comforts? Her mother was dead, her father had abandoned her, and from the stories, Sokka was an entitled useless piece of shit by comparison to her.

Three images shatter in his head all at once. Her ideal of family is just that, an ideal. Her own never had that, and she is subjecting what she wishes or perhaps believes it was on the world. Sokka isn't a perfectly respectable paragon of masculinity and composure - he too was a worthless asshole in his youth. And finally... Finally, her world isn't just. Defeating a villain won't fix that. Ending the war won't fix that. People will still be suffering for decades after they win. She had mentioned rebuilding, and she had sounded reluctantly hopeful the one time they had talked about it.

...I never knew anything.

I never knew, I couldn't know.

He has to speak, he has to say something to let her know that he understand a little more now, that he knows what he did wrong, that he didn't realize how much this would hurt her. He opens his mouth-

and when he does, he keels over and vomits all over the space in front of him.]

Edited 2012-07-15 05:42 (UTC)

[Vomit, no matter how many disgusting things you've seen, is still disgusting, smelly, and disturbing to watch.

And in this case, it was also completely unexpected.

Fortunately, she was standing several feet away, so the vomit didn't hit anything, but.

Her lips form a flat line.

She had more to say. She'd wanted to talk about how life was after their father left, about how she and Sokka had been in charge, about how there were less mouths to feed but less food to feed it with, about how she'd had to watch Sokka take on the responsibility of being a man for the whole village with next to nothing she could do to help, about how he'd taken on the training of the boys, about quiet nights, with no games, and no singing, and just staring out over the ocean in the watchtower her brother had built.

If she took this sickness to be a sign that she was getting through to him, she could have cut to the point: You don't get to call my decision to care for my family perverse. You don't get to judge my life by how much fun I am. This is who I am.

But she doesn't push the point home. She could break him, right now, if she did that, and she doesn't want to break him. But she is still so hurt from what he said, from what he did... She doesn't say anything. But she doesn't move to help him, either. She'll glance politely to the side and let him clean himself up in silence.]

[He throws up some more. He keeps going and every time he thinks he's stopped, he tries to speak, he keeps looking up and over to her. But... he never manages it. He just keep heaving there on the ground. He dimly recognizes it's all over his feet now, and as he braces himself his hands are in the resulting puddle. It gets all over his him, as it is coming out of his mouth and his nose. His nose burns. His eyes burn. And when he's finally kneeling over a pool of his own vomit, panting, he knows he's done.

And when he is, his eyes now bloodshot both from crying and from the force of vomiting like that-] For... for a world like that, for a fate like that- I was wrong. [Pant, pant] "Perverse" was the wrong- [Pant] word. That's wrong. That's unfair. You-

A world like that is awful.

[he says this through gritted teeth. His positioning here is unstable, at best]

[All this vomiting is starting to make Katara concerned. At first she thought it was just a result of being upset, but now she's starting to wonder if something physically wrong with him.

She's starting over to check, when he starts to speak.

Yes. Yes, it was unfair that her mother was taken away from her. Yes, it was unfair that her father had heard the call of larger responsibilities than his two children, had felt it necessary to protect them by leaving them alone. The Fire Nation was awful. The things that they had done would take years to heal. Why did he think the Avatar was so important - the Avatar him/herself, distinct from Aang?]

Why do you think I'm trying so hard to make it better!

[She takes a breath and meets his (frankly, she wants to take her water and blast that vomit off of him, it's incredibly gross and her own stomach turns) eyes.]

But you don't get to call my choice to care for others perverse. You don't get to devalue my existence and my commitment to make sure that no one else has to go through what I did. This is who I am.

[And she's proud, she's so proud, that Ikki doesn't have to know the pain and fear that she did. And she's glad that people from world's like Masaomi exist. And she's so bitterly jealous that there are those who can just relax, and just have fun, and not worry, and be cared for - but that's not who she is. Not outside of trust. Not when she doesn't know that the ones dear to her are being cared for.

He wanted her to go have fun, spend time for herself, weeks after a draft and in the same week her family was being tossed around and torn apart and patched together in a strange new configuration? Didn't he know her at all?]

[What? Why would she understand it like that? How could she understand it like that? His reaction to the second half hits him mush faster than a delayed reaction to the first half. Heaving, he tries to force himself onto his feet. His legs are shaky, and he takes a step forward] Who would?! I never said that! I never would say that! I am in awe of that, now more than ever, that you survived a perverse fate - not only here, but at home too! Your dedication to that is beautiful, and flashes of that are why I fell in love with you!

[He coughs. Something got stuck in his throat. He threatens to trip, to fall back into the pool. He tries to steady himself

Other things come to him in that moment when he falters. In a flash, he realizes:

"Why do you think I'm trying so hard to make it better!" + "There's a good reason for that, you know. He brought everyone hope when we had none."

"I know the story, Toph-chan. In another life, I even lived it."

So that's why the Prince of Omashu loved Aang so much.

Stupid. He was so stupid. It wasn't Aang the person, of course it wasn't, it was the Avatar. It was the promise of freedom, the promise of hope. All this time, he'd thought that it was Aang that was important. It wasn't. Aang was personally important to Katara and become personally important to his friends, but it could have been anyone. It could have been that Korra girl. He's been so preoccupied with the narrow lens of Katara's well being, he'd failed to see her circumstances.

I couldn't have known.

He's crying, still, isn't he? As he stands in vomit, trying not fall over.

That's not all you are. You are so much more. I have seen so much more.

But even as he thinks that, he knows, he's depended on her too. She was his Doctor, he had just sworn that. She was his doctor, his rock. The thing which had allowed him to become a better man. He had given her as many or more burdens than all of them.

And he was so.

Stupid]

[...he's really standing there, protesting what it was he'd said, in vomit.

This entire conversation was taking place after him being sick and with the results of that sickness all over him.

It was so disgusting.

And it was wrong. As angry as she was with him, as hurt as she was, she couldn't just stand there and let him - accept this, let him do this to himself, let him be completely covered in filth.

And he's crying.

And he's protesting her understanding of what he said.

Ha.

She can't take it anymore, she starts slowly towards him, her hand going to rest on her waterskin.]

All right, we'll talk about this more later - first you need to get cleaned up. Are you strong enough to get in and out of the river yourself, or do you need me to help you?

[She'd really rather not have to personally attend to that mess, but she would if there weren't any other options.

...ew, he was standing on it. She might have dealt with animal entrails and surgery, but that really only increased her awareness of disease passed on through filth and her personal standards of cleanliness.]

I am! I am! [It's all but snarled.

Help.

Help him, after all he said. She's going to help him. She's going to allow him to be a greater burden on her. No.. He can't allow that. He stands, more erect, running more on determination than anything. He's still crying. His mouth tastes awful. His nose is full of snot that he knows is tinted in color by his vomit.

He's been so sure of his own worth, until this moment. He turns to take his first shaky step towards the river, surprised at how sure his footing is. was he really okay? How could he be okay?

A second step.

...He can't let it go. He can't let it end like this. He has to say something, anything]

That's not all you are.

[A third step. His knees buckle because he stepped awkwardly on a rock. he forces himself to stand upright again]

You are so much more.

[Another step. He's near the bank. He stumbles a bit, but catches himself]

Edited 2012-07-15 07:18 (UTC)

[She's not eager to touch him. He's a mess. But she doesn't want him to hurt himself, or worse, drown either. So she follows a few paces behind him, making a mental note to come back and blast that puddle of filth away later.

He's still trying to talk to her. Like this. It was somewhat amazing.

She reaches for him when he stumbles, but pulls back in time when he catches himself.]

Careful.

[Easy now - in you go.]

[...He's at the water. He doesn't want to step into it. Wading in would take effort. He grits his teeth, grinding them together as he stands at the bank]

You don't- [He steps forward, his shoes into the water now. He's up to his ankles. It's much less cold than he expected.] People live for themselves, and you help others with that.

[What is he even saying. Another step in, wading. The current... is sort of strong. Hah]

You live and help, not live to help.

[She probably always knows this. He's worthless, isn't he?

No.

His worth is more than that. It's more than nothing. It has to to be. He tries to inhale through his nose, but he ends up coughing on the snot he inhales, and falls forward into the river]

[...and then he coughed on something and fell face-forward into the river. Considering the weakness vomiting can cause and that Katara was still halfway concerned that there was something more than emotional upset causing his reaction, she immediately wades in after him.]

Masaomi!

[Oh, I fell in.

...

I might drown, right?

...

I don't want to die.

The current isn't strong enough to carry him more than a bit as he floats some in the water, but it takes a great effort for him to pull his neck up and breath in through his mouth. He rights himself in the water, putting his feet on the bottom and planting them. He's up to his shoulders in the water in a crouched position now. ...

And then he hawks a loogie with the snot which ended up in his throat]

[She's not at all far behind him, though in another moment she would have just bent the water around him to prop him upright. She does - pause - for a moment as he spits, but then moves to put her hands on his shoulders.

Sigh:] You idiot.

[Her grip's firm.]

Don't scare me like that. I told you I would help if you needed it. Come on, can you stand up?

That's your instinct, despite it all.

[He smirks, in spite of himself. He doesn't want to stand just yet. This feels comfortable, being in the water like this, knowing she can control everything around him at the moment. he still sounds congested. He should rinse his nose. It still tastes gross in his mouth.

...Did his pockets empty? He reaches into them- he takes out the pokedex and the ball, taking them both in his right hand, awkwardly.

His left feels so heavy with the weight on]

[...did he seriously just say that.

Katara removes one hand to lightly thwap him up the backside of the head.]

No, I'm just going to let you drown.

[Idiot.]

I'd des-- ...No. I don't deserve that, do I.

[...] I-

[He swallows. No, he can't do this whole his nose is still stuffy. He dunks his head back in the water to take a bunch of the probably gross river water into his mouth to swish it out and possibly try to blow it out his nose]

[She frowns, any lightheartedness leaving at that aborted statement.

No, of course you don't deserve it. What is the matter with you?

She'll wait a short while for him to surface, but if he doesn't come up soon she'll pull him up ~~by his hair~~.]

Edited 2012-07-15 08:11 (UTC)

[He surfaces... and then spits it out. His nose is somewhat more clear now. Snot got short out under the water and all. He exhales hard when he surfaces and inhales equally hard. ]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I had to do this now. If more showed up- no. Excuses just.

[...Ugh. His throat is sore too now]

[More frowning.]

Would you just breathe? I told you, we'll talk more later. Right now we need to take care of you first. Are you feeling any better?

No. Please. [Inhale, exhale. He is still crouched. He goes to open the pocket of his jacket to shove the pokeball and pokedex in there. Close. He looks at the right wrist as he pulls it up out the water again. ...the bracelet, still

Hah. He'll never stop being a burden to her. ...But it's not a burden. It's not a burden to help a friend. It's not a burden to help someone she likes, just like it's not a burden for him to try to protect her as a beloved. He has to believe that. He's worth that much.

...But he's giving her a hassle now. Exhale.]

I mean yes. I am, a little better.

[And he holds up the left wrist with the weight on it still. He needs to pull it off]

[Right, on it, pulling that off.]

Stand up straight, if you can.

[He lurches just a bit when he firsts tries to stand- current. But he catches himself. Okay. There. He stands. Straight]

[All right, good. You're well and properly soaked so she will just - bend the remnants of that puke right off you. Because. Yes. It goes plop in the river, and she steps along beside him, takes his hand with absolutely no permission, and wraps it around her shoulders.]

Come on, lean on me. We're not risking you falling again.

[She saw that lurch.]

Let's get out of the river.

[He's in no position to resist or protest. He just complies with what she says. He keeps his hand there. He mutters "so much more" to himself and also "I love you" but at this point he's just being rebellious to her businesslike thing here.

Let's get out of the river indeed. He walks, knowing she'll be in sync]

[Well. She is RIGHT BY him, so the chances are excellent that she hears what he's muttering, which would probably explain that twisted stomach feeling.

Oh well, out of the river they go, hopefully without any further problems.]

You can just sit on the bank for a bit to get some strength back.

[He nods and... against all odds, he smiles. Once they are out of the river with no more problems than him just muttering things the whole time, he plops himself into a seat on the bank.

...He should let Linda out, apologize. But that can wait]

Yes, Doctor.

[He's not teasing. He's sincere.]

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