generalflirt | Appointments Post ( II )

Thaaaaaaaaaat's...a lot. [ give her a minute to figure out where to start. This is stuff that has been taught to her and practiced around her for as long as she can remember. Ikki frowns a little, trying to sort out what might or might not be important, and starts with what seems best to her. ] I don't know what you know about us from grandpa, but it's prob'bly important that we grew up different. [ She's not sure how to explain this, because she's never exactly broached the topic with her grandfather, even, although he's heard stories about her childhood by now. It's just that the differences in her culture and his culture are hard to pinpoint, but they exist. ]

When grandpa was younger, there were four temples. The East and the West Air Temples housed the nuns; the Northern and Southern temples had the monks. Air Temple island does have female and male dormitories, but...see, they didn't have families, then. Not actually. If I had been born then, I wouldn't know daddy or Meelo or Rohan or my aunt and uncle or my grangran, and I probably wouldn't know mommy was my mommy, or that Jinora was my sister. And the Air Temples back then could only be reached by flying, so you had to have a bison or be an airbender, 'cause they didn't have airships back then. The Air Nomads kept themselves...kinda apart, you know? They did travel places, and see other nations, but I think they had a lot less to do with what happened, although I'm pretty sure that was true of all the nations, because they didn't have all the ways to talk to one another and travel that we do now. But anyway, spiritual concerns came first, and it was...different. [ Her family knows there are differences, Ikki is pretty certain, but she's not sure how much they think about it, if at all. ]

We're not seperate now. Air Temple Island is right next to Republic City. We have a seat on the council, and we're...daddy is very very involved in what happens in the world, and eventually we're gonna be, too. Pilgrims come to the island sometimes. The other temples, the ones they restored, can be reached without flying, because most of our people can't airbend. A lot of the air acolytes remember other ways of life, too, because they're people who decided they wanted to follow the air nomad way of life, and so they came from all the other nations. The younger ones were born air nomad, but I know air nomads who were born fire nation or water tribe or earth kingdom. Those things they used to be didn't go away, just kinda...became a part of who they are now?

Some things are the same, but some things can't be, because when they destroyed our culture they kinda did a pretty thorough job. All our scrolls and things - only a few of them are from a long time ago, you know? Most of them came from grandpa, came from what he knew and remembered.

[ That...more or less sums up her disclaimer, Ikki thinks. She sits down again, crossing her legs and leaning forward to prop her elbows on her knees as she keeps talking. She's making an attempt to speak slightly slower than her usual pace, but the results are mixed at best.

And she's going to pause here before she gets into the basic philosophy because apparently in a conversation it is polite to pause once you start drowning someone in words. ] Y'see?

[You know, history is his worst subject.

Cultural destruction never really plays out as keenly in his head as it might in other people's minds, and so he's sort of looking up at the ceiling as she gives her disclaimer. You know, when she puts it like that, the old Air Nomads sounded accidentally pretentious, he decides. As if in the quest for their cultural and spiritual perfection, they decided to distance themselves so much from the common people they reached a point no one could touch. In that moment, while they sure didn't deserve the fate he knows they had, he also decides that he despises them.

Probably because as common men go, he's pretty common.

It also makes something click into place about Aang for him, something which always nagged at him. That kid had come out of an elitist culture like that? Even if he was sweet and even if he was kind, no wonder his ability to internalize perceptions which aren't his own was so bad (he biasedly thought). He's not sure if that endears him more to Aang, or if it frustrates him more about Aang, but it certainly rewrites the story which is being told even now in his heart. It certainly contextualizes things in the same way Katara's stories about her awful childhood did. He feels like he has a greater understanding now.

...Hah.

He nods though, he's following that, but it's in no way what he's asking. Given how much she talks, he suspects that if he lets her just go on without commenting, she will, well, go on. He hopes she can get to the things he's wondering before Katara arrives]

Edited 2012-10-07 02:11 (UTC)

All life is sacred. That's something we learned from when we were really, really little. It's why we don't eat meat, or it's part of why we don't, anyway. Taking a life is... [ Here she pauses, gesturing somewhat randomly, uncertain of how to convey what she'd been told. ] ...it's not something to be done lightly, but I think that's something that most people agree on, orrrrrrr most of the people I've spoken to here, and back home.

You're supposed to do no harm to others, and respect them. We're supposed to respect our teachers, our family, ourselves, and other people. If all life is sacred then all life deserves your respect, even if sometimes someone might not have your liking, 'cause sometimes people are giant jerks. [ oh so spiritual, Ikki. ] And if people have your respect, you have to listen to them. ...Not obey them, I mean, buuuuuuut you can't ignore what other people think and feel, even if you don't agree with their opinions. That wouldn't be flexible, y'know? If you're trying to walk against the wind, you'll have problems, so you have to learn how to walk with it, instead.

...Because of those things, because of a lot of other things, you're supposed to learn how to solve your problems without resorting to violence. Mm, there's no one way to solve any problem is the point, so saying you must do this in this way feels weird, y'know? That is, I'm not saying that it's not right for other people to do any of the things I'm talking about - well, I think generally killing people is really, really not okay, but I know people who have done that to...stop it from happening to other people - because I don't think that's really up to me, it's just that for my people, it's not what we follow or do. Like, Katara and Uncle Sokka and Aunt Toph and everyone eats meat, and that's cool 'cause that's their right way through the wind.

Ummm. I really don't know how to summarize all this. [ she doesn't look upset, just stumped, because she's trying to figure out which parts he's looking for. ]

[And it's about this point when a Katara who is somewhat still mentally linefacing at Masaomi enters the Dome. She calls out once she gets there to see where they are.]

Masaomi? Ikki?

[Masaomi barely has time to process his findings (still looking at the ceiling) when Katara walks in. He throws Ikki and appreciate smile before standing and waving over his beloved friend]

Heyo!!

Kataraaaaaaaa!

[ Ikki's a lot more cheerful than she was the last she left off with the waterbender, and it shows to anyone who...has eyes. She's crosslegged by a bench with Soren perched nearby, but when Masaomi stands up, she does, too. ]

Hey, you two.

[It's a wide smile for her granddaughter and a slightly faded one for Masaomi.]

You look like you're getting all set up.

[Wow rude] Nooooot particularly. I still need to make sure Ikki and Soren talk for a bit longer and she at least knows what all the things he can do are, but it shouldn't take that much longer.

[He glances at Soren to confirm this. Right, boy? You eager to train?]

[ Soren's definitely eager to get going! Y'all talk too much. 8| ]

Sifu set up my pokedex, though, with "sync". [ IT BEEPED A LOT, KATARA. Here let her show you it although you have seen other ones before this is clearly still exciting. ] It's a secret diary an' encyclopedia!

Sifu, huh?

[A slightly warmer (if assessing, measuring) glance at Masaomi, and Katara smooths down Ikki's hair and moves to take the pokedex.]

Let's see.

[There's a sincere smile on his lips as soon as Ikki says "Sifu." He's also collecting Linda's Pokeball and pulling up close to his face. special pokeballs end up slightly see through at close examination and the miniaturized pokemon can be seen then. So he's confirming Linda's okay.

Hopefully Ikki can point it at Soren and they can accomplish what more needs to happen]

[ Demonstration time! ...The demonstration is really just pointing the dex at Soren, who is always more than happy to strike a pose.

Yep, there's the entry about Soren, again. Ikki has successfully mastered pointing something at other things. ]

These are the names of all his airbending tricks! And also other things!

[Katara sees that smile and... hoooo boy. She should have grabbed Aang and asked him to come too. Training a creature to fight is... well... it's always been a little disturbing to her on some level, but for Aang... and Ikki being his legacy, the legacy of his people... and this bringing her closer to Masaomi... oh boy.

She returned her attention to Ikki with a smile her granddaughter (!?!!) never failed to illicit.]

Airbending tricks, huh? [Katara points to the one at the top of the list.] What's this one do?

[What don't mind him, he/this is totally cool. He doesn't send Linda out though - her rivalry with Soren would probably needlessly confuse the situation. He just stands aside here, willing other people to finish their damn dome sessions]

"Peck" isn't really like airbending, actually. Soren showed me some of them while you an' Masaomi were talking, and that one was like -

[ HAND GESTURES. But, well, that's...sort of useless, so she glances inquiringly at Soren, who is more than happy to do something other than listen to all the talking.

...Peck is pretty self-explanatory, really, but wow isn't that cool man. ] ...Like that!

[Katara makes an appropriately impressed noise.]

Wow. What else can he - she? - do?

Most of his forms - Soren's a boy! [ He is, and looked a bit offended about the she remark. As...much as a bird can look offended, if you just met the pokemon recently. Ikki notably says "forms" instead of "moves", but she's also calling them airbending, so. ] - anyway, most of them are airbending. A few aren't, but "Rest" is a healin' form! ...And also makes Soren sleep?

[ She just. Glances over at the bird, who nods. Welp. ] Anyway, the thing he learned most recently was - actually, I don't think it was any of these moves.

Well, it was, but from what he showed me just now, I think they were doing two at once? [ There's a trill of agreement, and Ikki frowns at the list, not upset, just thinking about it. She's trying to picture the demonstration she got, the first day she came back. ] ...I'm gonna guess it was, um, "Aerial Ace" an' then "Air Slash"?

[ Partial points. There's also an "Agility" in there, but Chien never really talked about the moves in name. The names don't sound as interesting as they look in action, anyway, and Ikki's known the best way to get Soren to airbend for her for a while (the rare times he doesn't start off doing it first): flatter him and ask nicely. ] Soren, Katara reaaaaaaaally wants to see that one, an' so do I! Pretty please?

[ WELL SINCE YOU ASKED SO NICELY no he'd do it anyway look at this guys he is so cool. The Swellow takes off upward into the sky, looping around in the clouds and cutting a particular one down smaller and smaller with each pass. The Agility and Aerial Ace combo means he's moving as fast as he was the first time Ikki saw this trick - Chien had been emphasizing speed training - and the cloud meets an untimely end at the hands of an Air Slash.

Cloud demolished, Soren glides back down to the three humans on the ground, clearly waiting to be praised for his awesome skills.

Ikki, at least, obliges the way she normally does for his feats - clapping and laughing. ] I've been practicing to see if I can get that slash down but I haven't got it yet! You're amazing, Soren! I bet you'd get more from it if you did a dive while you did it, though. You go reaaaaaaaaally fast then, and if you do something while you drop, it goes more! I blew all the leaves off a tree once! ...And then I got in trouble, so actually, maybe you shouldn't do that...

[ Advice from a crazy airbending child who has jumped off a sky bison before, y'know, no big deal. If noting else, Ikki's pretty secure in what to do when you're in the air. ]

[Um. Wow, okay. Katara observes all this with her usual wary attention when it has something to do with her granddaughter, but it's easy to see the way that Soren is relating to her... and vice-versa.

Hmm.]

That's definitely very impressive. But you're right, Ikki, it is usually better to preserve the leaves on trees.

That's what mommy said, yep. [ She passes the pokedex over fully. ] Anyway, that's the whole list there!

[That move combination... that was Agility (he recognized the blurring motion as Soren's speed dramatically increased) comboed with some aerial aces and moving into an air slash, huh...

He watched that and identified three or so shortcomings in it he thinks he and Linda could exploit, but more importantly, one of the rooms opened up. He snaps his finger to have them hurry over to get dibs on the console with him. Pointing in that direction, he starts to head over]

But do you know what all those moves do, Ikki?

[Thoughtfully, Katara follows along.]

[ Ikki joins the procession, still not completely sure how the battle dome works, anyway. ]

Mm, the airbending ones, kinda? I read the descriptions of a few but I'm not sure what they're talking about sometimes.

I'm going to need to take a while to program this, so while I do-

[And he's at the console now. With his hand on it, he turns now to Ikki to give her... not a stern look, but a look he hopes implies "concerned senpai"]

-Ask Soren to demonstrate them as best he can. It's important you know what your partner is capable of so you can think of new strategies together. And if you're still confused, I'll see if I can't help you out, okay?

[Katara glanced around at the machinery.]

He can demonstrate over there [a nice safe distance away].

'Kay. [ Ikki just nods, although she glances over at Katara first. ] Are you gonna help Masaomi, or go with me?

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october 4th /slides back in Ikki -> Masaomi -> Katara

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