01 ≋ a frozen ocean joins our hearts ≋

[waterwhip]

Who: Katara and you!
What: Exploring the area and not getting into trouble at all ever.
When: Within the first couple of days of arrival.
Where: The fountain and the greenhouse.
Warnings: None! Maybe later.

--∿≈≋🌘≋≈∽--

It isn't lost on Katara that the assembled band of 'heroes' brought from every corner are fortunate to have an abundant supply of fresh water. She is fortunate, more than most--some people drink what they need to survive without thinking much about it, but for a daughter of the Water Tribe, and a waterbender to boot, water is essential to Katara. It has informed every aspect of her life.

She bends in the square when she has time and it's not too crowded. Pakku would never let her hear the end of it if she let her skills get rusty, and frankly, she's worked too hard just to be allowed to learn to let it go to waste.

The water she's gathered up now will go to the greenhouse later, but there's nothing saying she can't play with it a little first. It coils through the air, forming loops and spirals. Refracted light dances on the ground and the walls of the buildings around her. Another movement catches her eye, and she turns, first with a guarded look and then a smile.

"Oh, hey! I didn't see you there."

--∿≈≋🌕≋≈∽--

Since discovering that her skills as a waterbender are invaluable in streamlining the process of cultivating food, Katara has made daily visits to the greenhouse to water and weed the plants. There are a few she's become particularly fond of--one is a little maroon and pink fruit she's dubbed the 'glueberry' for how sticky the juice becomes if it gets mashed; it's sweet and tart, and she knows they're packed with nutrients.

Her favorite is a much larger fruit that she discovered after a few days of tending the greenhouse. The husk of the fruit requires a bit of effort to crack, but the inside is filled with fleshy seed pods that taste like something between the mangoes that grow on Ember Island and the moon peaches Momo loves so much. The seeds are a glossy, almost iridescent black; Katara has begun to save them to replant, and to make beads for jewelry.

She wasn't expecting company today, but she doesn't seem disappointed for it. "Here, help me break this open?" she asks, the football-sized fruit in her extended hand. "You really have to try this. It's so good!"

--∿≈≋🌒≋≈∽--

Wildcard!

Comments

Fountain

[bossofspace]

"Well, you looked pretty busy," Carol points out with an easy smile, and then waves her on. "And don't feel like you have to stop 'cause I'm here."

If the girl's manipulating the water on her own, that's a pretty useful skill to have in the situation they've all found themselves in, but beyond just being useful, there's a beauty to it, too, and Carol certainly doesn't mind just watching, as long as the girl doesn't mind an audience.

[waterwhip]

Katara smiles back, finishing the form she was practicing before bending the water back down into the fountain for the time being. "It's called waterbending," she explains. "Back home, only people of the Water Tribe can do it, but my friend Tommy called it 'hydrokinesis', so maybe people from other worlds can do something like it."

She shrugs and sits on the lip of the fountain, dipping her fingers into the water, absentmindedly forming little blocks of ice that float to the surface. "I'm Katara. What's your name? Are you thirsty?"

[bossofspace]

"I'm Carol, and -- yeah, kinda why I'm here." She sits down on the edge beside Katara, and looks down into the fountain itself, ready to scoop up some water in her hands, but she's distracted by the fresh ice that sparkles in the sun. "And you do ice? That's some serious talent."

Of course, it's probably second nature to Katara, or something close to it - she's clearly young, but she seems dedicated to practicing her craft. "Hope they haven't put you to too much work," she says, almost like it's a joke. Almost.

[waterwhip]

"I do ice," Katara confirms. Swirling her fingers in the water, she freezes the water into a shape like a small cup, then lifts it up and offers it to Carol. "I come from the South Pole--everything is ice down there."

Carol's comment about being put to work has the girl shrugging. "It's not bad," she says. "I have an ability that no one else has, which means I can be that much more helpful." And it isn't as if she's trying to keep herself so very occupied so she won't have the time or energy to worry about her absent friends. Of course not. "My people are used to having to struggle to survive, so this isn't much different. At least no one here is trying to hurt us."

Fountain

[pileofspirits]

A pale figure almost completely blanketed in a weird, tattered cloak of rags stands off to the side, just quietly watching her do her thing. For a person, they have an odd sort of colorless, empty look to them, save for stark black eyes.

But! The emptiness changes almost immediately to a friendly expression when she calls out to them, and they call back.

"Didn't see you there!"

[waterwhip]

That... is kind of an odd thing to say, considering they seem to be standing there watching her. Weird, but okay, maybe they just came from down the road. They seem friendly, at least, so she approaches without trepidation.

"Sorry if I got in the way. Are you thirsty?"

[pileofspirits]

"--Are you thirsty?" they happily parrot, almost before she's finished asking the question herself. Then, in the exact same tone, they roll into a different question with hardly a pause between. "Are you magic?"

Strange, but at least everything about their expression says that they're nothing but eager and curious.

[waterwhip]

Katara can't help the slight shiver she feels run down her spine. Eager and curious is fine, but the way her words are being repeated back to her feels... eerie.

She shakes her head, channeling the water into a lazy formation around herself. It's visually beautiful, but also useful in a fight: the ring can be deployed defensively and offensively--not that she intends to use it. If traveling with the Avatar has taught her anything, it's to have a little faith, but to be prepared all the same.

"It isn't magic. It's called waterbending," she says.

[pileofspirits]

Eerie, like the way the figure's dark eyes seem to reflect no light, even with the sunshine overhead. They watch the water loop lazily around her, and their hands idly mimic the motion. But their attention is mainly on the words being spoken. Their brow furrows.

"Waterbending. Bend... bending? Isn't water... bending, always?"

[waterwhip]

That unsettled feeling only gets worse as she watches the person copying her bending stances (even to no effect). The question doesn't make sense, but at least it's not just her own words repeated back to her.

"Water flows and moves on its own, but I bend it," Katara replies. "Are you... are you a spirit?" she asks, wishing desperately that Aang was here. He would know what to do in this kind of situation. It's the eyes that prompt her question--eyes unlike anything she's ever seen on a living person.

Greenhouse

[the_tailor]

[Having helped around at the small farm his family owned when he was younger, he isn't unfamiliar with taking care of plants. Or animals, for that matter. The small farm thankfully gives him a place to keep Kaltenecker, who hasn't seemed to complain yet. She's still too stressed to really properly give milk, but hopefully she'll be able to adjust.

After taking care of her in the mornings, he heads into the greenhouse to tend plants and gather a little food for the day. Despite fighting a war and having killed more people than he wants to admit, Lance is finding it incredibly difficult to hunt animals, so he'd been shoving that responsibility to Keith while he took care of the more herbivore-aspects of their diet.

There's a girl he often finds there that he's familiar with, even if she doesn't know him. Lance was incredibly good friends with Sokka, after all, but this Katara doesn't seem to be the one he used to know. Either or, it wasn't an issue.

He gives a smile to her as he strolls over, nodding.]

Ooh, I was wondering what that was. Alright, how do we do this? Smash it like a coconut, or is there a trick to it?

[waterwhip]

[ It's true that Katara doesn't know Lance, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't like to. He has a friendly face, and in some ways, he even reminds her of Sokka. Perhaps it's the way he carries himself, or his cocky grin, or his coloring, or a combination of all of those things. It makes her miss her brother fiercely, but she quashes those feelings for now. ]

If we get a crack in the husk, I can use water to break it open the rest of the way. I'd just cut it through but I made a huge mess the time I tried that--it spilled juice everywhere. It's worth the effort, though!

[ Katara has done this by herself a few times, but it never hurts to get help and to share the bounty. There's more here than she can eat on her own. ]

There's a rock over here that we can use to break it.

[the_tailor]

Oooh, right, the water thing...

[It's more of a mumble than anything as he recalls it, and he nods with a grin. Lance heads over to grab the nearby rock in question.]

Hold it steady, okay? I think I see a good spot to hit.

[waterwhip]

[ Rather than holding the fruit steady while someone she's only just met swings a rock at it, Katara finds a flat spot on a nearby tree and freezes the fruit in place with a solid layer of ice. Lance's comment gives her pause, however. She considers him with open curiosity. ]

'The water thing'? Do you know about waterbending?

[the_tailor]

[A fair enough plan right there. Lance is hardly clumsy, but he doesn't blame Katara for wanting to be careful. Focusing his strength, he strikes the fruit with a rock where it doesn't seem quite as tough as the rest of it. Although it's not enough to crack the whole thing open, it creates a big enough hole for Katara to work with.

And...oh, he said that out loud, didn't he.]

Um, yeah. It's kind of...complicated, though?

Fountain

[outstandingbalance]

"No harm done," Natasha says, her eyes going back and forth between the girl and the water twisting through the air. She's been watching for a minute or two without saying anything—so it's on her really. "That's a neat trick you have there."

Re: Fountain

[waterwhip]

"Oh, it isn't a trick," Katara replies. "It's waterbending. It's a sacred tradition in my tribe, but nobody else that I've met here has heard of it." Funneling the water back into the fountain, she gives Natasha a sad smile. "No one else from my home is here. Just me. But it's okay--they're better off where they are."

Shaking her head once as if to clear her thoughts, she introduces herself. "I'm Katara." There's a slight bow to accompany her name, hands placed together, fingers folded over a closed fist.

"I've never seen anyone with hair like yours before," she blurts when she straightens up, although she seems to quickly realize that might be an impertinent thing to say. "I mean... I like it! Everyone back home has brown or black hair." Except for Yue, but that was an exception.

[outstandingbalance]

"That's a very philosophical way to look at it," Natasha says with a slight nod. She doubts Katara is the only one who feels that way; there are enough people here who have been kidnapped before that this isn't a complete shock, and even discounting that the people who are get picked tend to have a particular constitution. They aren't the kind of people who break under pressure.

Still, Katara is young, and it's a hard situation.

"I'm Natasha. And my hair's not always like this. At least, not the blond part. The red is mine."

[waterwhip]

Katara doesn't necessarily think of herself as a very strong person; her mother was strong. Her father is strong. She only does the best she can, facing each new situation as it arises. She's always had her friends behind her before, though, and being alone makes her feel small and vulnerable. At least she's met a few new friendly faces, but they haven't been through the fire with her like the gang has. Hopefully they won't have to.

"I don't know if I'd call myself philosophical," she says. "I just want what's best for my friends. I'm here now, so I'll do what I have to, but there's so much work to be done back home." Assuming they all survived Sozin's Comet. Katara grits her teeth, but centers herself with a quick inhalation through the nose and a slow exhale.

"Natasha," Katara repeats, a little wistfully. "That sounds like it could be a Water Tribe name. What's it like where you're from?"

[outstandingbalance]

"Cold," Natasha answers the question, her brows rising wryly. Asking where she's from is a big question, and most of it probably isn't actually relevant to Katara's question. But she softens, pivoting somewhat. "It's a nickname. Where I'm from, a lot of people don't use their real name unless they're being formal. Natalia becomes Natasha; Yekaterina, Katya; Ivan, Vanya; Maria, Masha..."

She shakes her head. It's not really that interesting, but it's something to say, and it does change the shape of each of the names into something a little different in the mouth. Something a little friendlier. A little less imposing.

"And trick or no, I've never seen anyone do something like that back home."

Not that she goes back often.

Greenhouse

[brooklyn_boy]

A supersoldier has to keep his calorie intake at a ridiculously high level. Because of this, Steve is at the greenhouse quite a bit and is pleased to see Katara there, working away as she does. At the request, Steve smiles and bounds over to take the fruit. With his strength he can crack it open with the effort it would take to knock on a door. He hands it back over but not before taking a pod for himself as payment. She's right, it is good.

"The food here is a whole heck of a lot better than what we had in the Atroma's ships," he says with a small sigh. Steve grabs another fruit and cracks it open to eat himself. He'd come for the cumatoes and banana-like things Tommy made but this was somewhat new and Steve, after eating so much, relished anything new he could get.

"Got a name for it yet?"

[waterwhip]

Katara's eyes go a little wide when Steve cracks the fruit open like it was a possum-chicken egg. "You're so strong!" she exclaims, inviting him to sit with her under the low boughs of the tree. It's warm and bright inside the greenhouse, and she holds the golden yellow pod carefully to keep the juice from dribbling down her hand and face as she nibbles around the smooth seed.

"I like the fruits and vegetables just fine, and I have a friend who would love it because he's a vegetarian, but my brother loves meat. He's the one who would usually go hunting when we would land for the night to make camp." She misses her friends so bitterly, and for a moment she looks down at the fruit in her lap. "I miss the smoked seal jerky my Gran-gran makes."

Not letting herself dwell too long on her absent family, Katara shakes her head and smiles at Steve.

"I haven't named it anything yet. The flavor makes reminds me of the mangoes we had on Ember Island, but it tastes a little like moon peaches too."

[brooklyn_boy]

"Moon peaches..." Steve smiles at the name and hopes that he's not looking too confused as he does so. "How about moon mangoes? Combine the two?" Also it's an alliteration and those are always fun. He doesn't say that though. Instead he finishes up his own fruit quickly and processes both what Katara said and the look on her face as she talked about her friends. He knows that look; he's made friends with it in the mirror more than once. Gently, he reaches out and grips the girl's shoulder.

"As for your friends... You never know who is gonna show up here. I lost...everyone I knew, once. Including the best friend I'd ever had. But here, I have him back.

"Places like this are strange like that. But the good thing about them is that they can give you people you never thought you'd see again. There's always hope..."

[waterwhip]

"Moon mangoes!" she says, grinning at the way it rolls off her tongue. "I like it."

Seeing Steve polish off the entire fruit so quickly, she passes him half of hers. It's more than she needs at the moment, and it means he won't have to crack open another one just yet. His hand on her shoulder is warm and encouraging, and she nods once, though her smile does turn sad.

"I appreciate that, but it's probably for the best that they stay where they are if they're going to put an end to the war." She grimaces a little just thinking about it, knowing he couldn't possibly understand. "It's a long story."

[brooklyn_boy]

He wants to wave off the offer but he's also practical and this fruit is satisfying his hunger in a good way. He thanks her and goes in to finish it off while listening intently to what she has to say. Luckily, Katara has likely chosen one of the people here who knows exactly what she's going through. Steve nudges her with his shoulder and offers a sympathetic nod.

"My friends are in the middle of trying to make sure half the galaxy isn't wiped out. Trust me, I get that."

He sighs and leans back a little. Katara is young. Very young to have friends who are in the center of a war. It brings to Steve the same outrage he gets listening to Tommy and Billy talking about their lives. Still, nothing he can do will stop it and Katara seems capable enough.

"Wanna talk about it?"