The lies, the filth! I just want to be clean!

[unbearablynaive]

WHO: The Vision
WHERE: The central fountain, followed by the lake to the south
WHAT: A gift or two for the Revivalists
WHEN: Afternoon through evening
WARNINGS: Probably none


The Soapmonger
Little surprise to anyone that had known his gardening hobby back in the Fleet, the Vision had gravitated quickly to the greenhouse and its related agriculture data point. The building is too big to explore in a single day, even a long Agri 10 day, but after some targeted searching he'd found a couple of important things. First, and most importantly, a good supply of the edible vegetables and fruits that will help sustain their small community.

Second, and probably more importantly, a supply of soap.

There are two kinds: a saponin plant discovered by Sansa that one can simply rip up and rub over one's body like soap, and a few bars of a trial soap made from one of the better-scented oils they've been able to press from some of the plants. It's made the old-fashioned way, mixed with ash and then pressed into bars with makeshift tools and the Vision's strength due to his ability to change density. To be most effective it should really cure for a few weeks at least, but for now? It's soap in familiar bars, and it should work passably well. He's even stamped it with a symbol - a little windrose.

"One bar each to start with, if you please. It will take some time to make more."

He hopes people like it.



The Shallow Lake
What's soap without somewhere to bathe? This watery area of the city was clearly not always like this - it's broad and shallow, and it looks like there are roads and parts of structures underneath. Is it coming from a buried spring? A busted water pipe? The Vision is curious and wants to investigate, but first they need to determine if the water is safe to go into.

It doesn't bother his skin, but given that he's an android, that's not saying much. Come along and help him investigate, or just splash around and test out that soap! There are probably parts where it's even pleasantly warmed by the sun. And he alternates between wading through and gliding above the water, looking for its source.



Alone Together
Slowly but surely, Wanda and the Vision have been making the abandoned shop area into a place they can feel comfortable staying, even if it will never be a home like that have back on Naviadna. But the liberal application of freshly-picked flowers, simple room dividers made of light wood and vines and broad jungle leaves, a fireplace for cooking set up in one corner, and a real wooden bedframe stuffed with the most comfortable leaves and scavenged blankets they can find. Things are beginning to shape up.

Later today he'll present his soap to the rest of the community, but the first dibs go to his wife. He's got two bars of the soap and a flowery-scented oil, and their biggest bucket heating water over the fire to get it warm.

"Now, I think we ought to be able to give your hair a proper wash."

Comments

[doubled_speed]

"Speak of the waterbender," Tommy grins. And to think, he'd just been reaching to pull his shirt off. Instead he's smiling. Smiling and moving closer to her, watching the waves move. That's really interesting, he's intrigued like he always is.

"You keep amazing me. Can you really tell if it's pure?"

[waterwhip]

"It's kind of hard to explain," Katara says, blushing a little at Tommy's enthusiastic compliments. "But I've seen polluted water before. My friends and I have been traveling through the Fire Nation, and we came across this village that was built in the middle of a lake. They were suffering because the water was all gunked up by a Fire Army weapons factory up the river from them, so we... uh, well, we helped clean the place up after the factory closed.

"The element you bend is a part of you. If it's tainted somehow, it just feels... wrong." The waves get larger, until one breaks away from the lake's surface in a gravity-defying swirl. "This just feels like water."

[doubled_speed]

Just feels like water. Well, between his dad vouching for it and Katara saying it's good to go...

Speedsters have a lot patience, people don't realize that. The thing is, their patience is measured in the time scales they experience. He strips off his shirt and his shoes and pants before Katara can blink and then heads right into the water, wading in a bit of the way.

"Well, it doesn't burn."

[waterwhip]

Following suit, Katara pulls off the outer layer of her clothes, then takes a few steps back so she can get a running start to jump into the water. The surface of the water domes upward like a cresting wave to accept her, allowing her to plunge in.

She stays under, just swimming for a moment before surfacing with a sigh. "Sweet, sweet water!" Floating on her back, she paddles lazily around, floating here and there. "Tommy! Can you swim fast, too?" she asks, propelling herself in his direction with a little bending.

[unbearablynaive]

The Vision grins at the two of them, looking relieved. "I'm glad to see it's safe for you, then. But wouldn't you say this is a recent lake?"

All the signs point to it having been here a very short time - the plant growth around it , the lack of significant sediment deposits, the clearly visible building shards and roads under the water.

"I wonder if there's another fresh water source it's coming from - a spring, perhaps, or a broken pipe?"

[doubled_speed]

Tommy laughs at Katara's specialized way to dive in. So jealous. But he grins at her question, swimming over quickly.

"Yeah, I'm a speedster. Can move my legs really fast, so effectively, I swim faster. But... the more important thing right now..."

His dad is asking questions. Stop being logical. He turns back and with a powerful thrust of his arms, splashes some water toward Vision. And hopefully it comes short.

"Come on, if you're waterproof why don't you come in here and look?"

[waterwhip]

"I could probably trace the water back to its source," Katara says, sitting up and treading water. "It shouldn't be too hard--if there's flowing water I can follow it."

[unbearablynaive]

Tommy did you just--yeah, yeah you did. The Vision sputters as the water misses him, even though he's already quite wet.

"It's--ah, that is, it's not stagnant, so it must be flowing from somewhere, and to somewhere." Where is it going? Sinking into the ground? Is there an outlet around? He regrets not having a geological map of the place, but that's something he's had to get accustomed to. Sometimes it's difficult to be as curious as he is.

"And I am not waterproof. I am made of metal. There is a difference."

[doubled_speed]

Of course he did. In fact, the young man is grinning in the water, his eyes sparkling with challenge. He's been taking care of two people full time and tending the greenhouse, he deserves a bit of fun.

"I'm asking if you'd fry getting in the water. But I'll stop splashing, wet blanket. Katara can find an answer. And I'll help. Except, I'm not great at seeing under the water. Left my goggles back in the hotel."

[waterwhip]

"I can bend the water away from your face," Katara says. "Make a little bubble so you can see under the water. But, we should be able to feel the current without going under all the way. We'll figure out where it's coming from in no time."

Closing her eyes, Katara lets herself sink in to her nose, floating for a moment before pointing off towards the center of the lake. "It's coming from that direction."

[unbearablynaive]

"In that sense, I suppose I am waterproof," he admits. "It would be a poor choice of places to explore if I were not." Besides, how could he share a bath with Wanda if he couldn't immerse himself? Tommy probably doesn't want to think about that.

"That's a fascinating use of your ability. I'll see if I can see anything from above?" And, because it's faster, he glides over the surface of the water, following Katara's lead.

While they're on the way, he decides to get their opinions. "What do the two of you think - would it be appropriate to set up bathing facilities here? Or should we reserve it for swimming?"

[doubled_speed]

Mentioning bathing with his mother could get something blown up, Vision. Possibly Tommy’s brain so he doesn’t imagine his parents together. Ew. Super ew.

“Dude, my family is full of people who make really poor life choices,” Tommy shoots back at Vision. Doesn’t say out because someone is there to hear them. He does twist in the water to look at Katars. “I guess you get to be our water eyes? I prefer sticking to the surface. Actually I prefer running over the surface, but I’m already in now.”

Hell, he can barely even float. Not even remotely enough far on his body. He’s even leaner than when he got here, his hyper-efficient metabolism already burning off what fat he had. Unhealthy, but unsolvable really.

“Bath houses. Japanese style. If we can find a way to heat the water. People need to get clean. I think it’s a health issue?”

[waterwhip]

"A firebender could heat the water, but most of them are more trouble than they're worth," Katara says, swimming easily towards the water's source. "But we don't have bath houses or anything like that at the South Pole. We just use a basin and a cloth to wash up." Not that they have either of those things here.

"Why don't we set up a washing station by the lake so people can clean up before they get in the water? We could have both." Because having a place to bathe would be nice, but Katara (somewhat selfishly) would hate to lose the swimming hole. "I could make an ice partition, maybe."

[unbearablynaive]

Luckily for Tommy, the Vision can lend a hand if he starts to sink. Part of the whole flying deal. "I would like to see you run across the water," he admits, "although not necessarily right this second."

He hovers and looks at the shoreline while the other two press on, then floats back over to them.

"A quick washing station for now, and then a bath house as a stretch goal? We can design with fire in mind as a heating source, until those of us who have been investigating the power plant can come up with some kind of heating element. The good part about the city being overgrown is that there's no shortage of wood."

[doubled_speed]

"Wouldn't ice, like, melt?"

Because logically it does that, right? Wasn't she suggesting using small icicles as a time delayed watering system? Clearly that means ice melts, even her ice. So that's not something that will work unless she's tending it a lot.

He does he is best to keep swimming with Katara, but the further out they go, the less comfortable he clearly gets. At least his... his Dad is nearby, to watch out for him.

"If nothing else, I can help haul lumber. Also, someone remind me to bring Billy by when he's healthy, so he can wash up."

[waterwhip]

"Bigger pieces of ice take a longer time to melt than smaller ones, so an ice wall should be good for a while. I could just add more water and re-freeze it when I come to swim or bathe." Which would be often, knowing her.

"The current feels stronger this way," she says, turning them in the right direction. Tommy is lucky that his companions today are a flying guy and girl who can do water magic--between the two of them, he'll be safe.

"You'll have to introduce me to your brother," Katara adds when Tommy mentions him. "I wish my brother were here."

[unbearablynaive]

"Hmm. And if there were anything under the water we wanted to investigate, an ice wall would help keep the water out while we looked into it, yes? Otherwise it seems it would be a great deal of effort."

He shrugs, keeping an eye on Tommy, but he seems to be swimming well enough for someone with so little body fat. Besides, there are shallower parts around; he can probably take a rest standing up if he needs to.

"Of course, I have no idea what kind of energy use that ability has. I can't say I've ever met another water-bender."

The lake is pretty big, for all that it's shallow, so it takes them a while to reach the source of the current.

"Do you think we have someone with architectural talent here? Or would that be too convenient?"

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, they've definitely hit depths at which Tommy would really rather not waste his energy. And it truly is wasting. He has to tread water a bit more than a normal person would to stay afloat. And his body only has so much to burn.

"Don't waste your energy until we have plenty of food, Katara. Otherwise I'll have two sorta magical people to worry about. And Billy is enough of a headache."

As for architectural talent, well, Tommy would shrug if he wasn't focusing on treading water.

[waterwhip]

"It's not a waste if it's helpful or necessary," Katara points out, finally hearing a bit of strain in Tommy's voice. "And it isn't hard. Waterbending is as natural to me as breathing."

To prove her point, she takes a deep breath and exhales over the surface of the water, freezing a wide swathe of it into a nice solid chunk. "You shouldn't waste your energy either," she says, patting the ice. "Rest a minute. I can dive down and have a look."

[unbearablynaive]

"Now that is impressive," he remarks as he offers Tommy a hand up to the ice. "It is--hm, the energy does not originate in you, but passes through you?" He's only observed her waterbending a little bit, but he can't help his natural curiosity.

"In either case, do let us know what you find."

[doubled_speed]

Oh man, getting up on ice from water was not something Tommy had relished the thought of, even though he was grateful to Katara.

“Be careful, Katara, and thanks,” Tommy says as he considers the ice. And then there is Vision. Tommy smiles and lets himself be helped up.

His words for Vision are absolutely accelerated beyond normal human reasoning speeds. Just enough for Katara to not hear one specific word. He doesn’t want it spreading around.

”Thanks, Pops,” he says. It’s a compromise term for now. Family but not as deep as ‘Dad’ while he’s still feeling this all out.

“Basically,” he says at normal speed, “Katara is awesome.”

And once he is standing on the ice he vibrates super fast to shed the water on him. Dogs god nothing on him.

[waterwhip]

"I'm not exactly an expert in bending theory," Katara admits, grinning at Tommy for his latest word of praise, "but I'll try and explain it to you when I get back. Sit tight!"

With that, she dives under the water, using her bending to form a bubble of air around her face so she can breathe and see while she swims. Finding the source is a simple matter once she's below the surface--she can feel the water moving around her body, and she follows it down to what had once been the paved surface of a street, now cracked and broken.

A large pipe protrudes from the pavement at an odd angle; it must have had sharp, jagged edges once, but time and the steady flow of water has worn it down. She peers inside curiously, but in the dark, there's no telling where the pipe leads, and she's not willing to risk it with her limited air supply.

A moment later, she breeches the rippling surface of the lake and takes a deep breath of fresh air.

"It's a pipe!" she confirms. "A really big one, too."

[unbearablynaive]

It's a good thing the Vision is facing away from Katara when he hears that, or his look of astonishment would give away the secret. But his expression mostly clears (his eyes are still wide and perhaps a bit misty) in time for him to wave at Katara.

Once she's safely underwater, he turns back to Tommy. "You're welcome," he says mildly, just to confirm he got the message. His brow quirks up. "And I see you do not need a towel." Handy, that.

Then Katara pops back up. "Ah! Excellent. That means there is running water. Do you think--hm. I don't suppose you have a way of sensing the water in the pipe so we could follow it to its origin?"

If not, they may have to wait a few days to see the "Safe to use Water" marker on the map.

[doubled_speed]

Sitting tight isn't something Tommy can do. This thing is REALLY cold, so he does pace a bit. A pacing that is stopped briefly when Vision offers a brief look. A look that says he got it. And Tommy offers the tiniest, smallest, most barely there and flash of motion quick smile at Vision.

"I mean, I'm talented, you know?"

Then he's waiting for Katara and he considers her with a nod before leaning down to offer his hand to her. He can pull her up, no issues.

"A ruptured pile, or something clearly meant to feed into the area?"

[waterwhip]

Katara lets Tommy pull her up onto her makeshift iceberg, propelling herself up with her bending. She wrings her hair out gently as she considers the Vision's and Tommy's questions.

"It looked broken, and the ground around it was in pieces, too. Something bad happened, probably, just like with everything else here." Crossing her arms, she squints back down into the water and hums.

"It's one thing to tell where the current leads when I'm in the water, but following it through the earth would be harder. There are limits to my bending, but..." She traces a line in the air, then points off in a south-westerly direction. "The pipe looked like it was going that way, so if we go to the edge of the lake I can see if I sense anything from there."