pendantry | Twelve

Twelve

[Raven arrives to open Slash'n'Crash at the usual time. It only feels too early, she decides, after a night of briefly interrupted sleep and a morning of dragging her feet around the house. With Kyle's help, she goes through the motions of getting the place ready for the day; she doesn't have any big projects lined up, so unless there are a lot of customers today, she figures she'll just tinker around with things.

She's wiping off her counter when Kyle catches her sleeve with one set of claws, motioning toward the door. Nothing is there for a moment. Then, with increasingly loud cries, Soren lands in front of the open door. Raven is an expert in bird distress, and even if she wasn't, his appearance on her other doorstep like this means there's a problem. Soren has problems in a pretty narrow field.]

Stay here. [To Soren, motioning him toward the ground so he doesn't take off somewhere again, and:] Keep an eye on the place for me. [To Kyle and whatever other employee might show up in the morning on a Friday.

She doesn't think twice about changing form and taking off for house 56. It isn't too far away. Much like the bird that just surprised her, Raven lands and raps hard on Avatar House's front door.]

[When she opens the door, it's a teen monk who answers. One who looks very emotionally fragile at the moment, cheeks streaked by dried tears. His prayer beads, which have emblems representing three out of four elements, are slung over one arm; and in his other hand he is tightly gripping a letter.

He and Ikki had always risen bright and early for airbending practice. So this morning had started with panic and a sinking feeling in his heart when he found no sign of his granddaughter. He searched and searched, but he couldn't find any sign of her. Or any of her belongings that were specifically from home. Just her letters, her treasures from Luceti, and the prayer beads that she never took off. That was when he realized it; he didn't need to try a journal filter, he just knew. She was gone again, and he might never see her again. He knows all too well in her time, he's just a statue and a ghost in Korra's head. But then he gets himself to read her letter, through tears and a severe mix of emotions, and he comes to accept that it is so much more than he ever thought.

So there he stands, facing Raven, looking lost and brave at the same time.]

[Video]

[After talking with Raven, Aang uses her journal to make the announcement. And he looks into the video feed with a sad smile; Raven is visible behind him, not looking at the camera. Aang does his best to keep himself composed throughout the message, with occasional cracks in his voice and welling up in his eyes.]

Hi everyone. It's me, Aang. I'm sorry to come here with sad news... but it's not really sad at the same time. It's Ikki. She's gone back home. If you don't know who she was.... she was about this tall, almost 10 and she ran the art club, and she's an airbender and she had a bird Pokemon named Soren with her all the time. I also called her the Avatar princess. She left some items and treasures for people she knew, s-so I'll come around to hand those out later.

I'm sad for all the friends she made here and all the people whose hearts she won't be able to touch. But... I think I'm happy, too. She gets to be with her family again. She has a mom and dad back home, plus her grangran and aunt and uncle, and an older sister and two little brothers. One of them's a baby that was just born. That family... That's where she belongs. I think I'm lucky that I got to have two years to get to know someone like her. And with all that time, she's still been smiling. She never had to go the war or get hurt badly. So I'm grateful for that.

This place bends time a lot, a-and it makes lots of us know about out futures before we're ready to. A lot of the times, the future can be scary... o-or overwhelming. But it also has people like Ikki. So I know it will be worth it. [He stops for a moment, wiping at his eyes while finding the words to wrap this up with.] Let's all wish her a happy return.

[Raven motions for her journal back; anyone who's grown used to her more-expressive-lately self will see the stone mask back on, today.]

Aang's going to do the art club with me instead. We'll have a meeting...soon. [There is some audible commotion beyond the visible frame and she sighs.] Soren's staying with me.

[[ooc: If you get something from here, Aang will be stopping by at some point to drop it off! JOINT POST so- so Aang is more likely to reply with a lot of words but either or both will answer.]

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[Sokka hears the news with quite a bit of surprise... and uncertainty. Yes, he'd read about many of the disappearances—or returns, rather—in here since coming here, but nothing ever struck home. Literally everyone who had disappeared since he'd come to Luceti was someone that he hadn't known whatsoever. That teenager invincibility complex could never have seen this coming, that it would one day hit their own house.]

Little Ikki's gone? Already?

[Sokka's dismayed, and the wind is taken out of his sails. He had just gotten used to being an uncle and spending time with Ikki. ~~And spoiling her as good great uncles ought.~~ Nevertheless, Sokka may not be the motherly Katara, but he knows Aang's got to be taking it worse than him, so he looks through the house to see if he's still home.]

Aang?

[Aang looks up as Sokka enters and gives a sad nod.]

Y-yeah. Already. [For Sokka, as far as he remembers, it must have been a short time. He doesn't remember the year's worth of memories he had with Ikki beforehand.]

I'm sorry, Sokka. [He focuses on the floor, his voice shakey.]

[Sokka sighs a bit with that. Katara was so much better at helping everyone deal with the sad things than he was, but really he's never had much opportunity to be the shoulder for someone else to cry on before either, much less when he was sad about the whole thing too.]

It's not your doing. [There's certainly an implication there about who he's referring to, but even then, there's no real malice there either since that does mean Ikki is back home. But he does also imply that there's no need for an apology either.]

She was a special kid.

[Sokka would normally use this time to crack a joke, but right now there really wasn't a joke that seemed to fit.]

She is a special kid. [He feels the need to correct. It all feels so raw still.]

But- thank you, Sokka. I wish you could've gotten to know her better. [Or remembered her at all.] She... she did leave you a letter.

[He is, of course, very correct.] Is special. Yes.

[However, the news that she left him a letter actually surprises him. He's been here with Ikki for may two months at most, and while he has enjoyed spending some time with her—time that was very well spent and very fun...—he didn't realize that it would be enough that she would actually write him!

Sokka looks a little shocked at that, as if parts of him didn't know how to comprehend it.]

She... wrote me?

[He swallows hard. Is that something that can be done? He never knew.]

[He nods at that.]

Yep. I think she left letters for just about everyone in the house. They- they should be back in her room. [He's left it as untouched as he could. With much less livleliness than usual, Aang starts to walk back towards Ikki's room.]

[He's still a little surprised. He got to hang out with Ikki for a precious few days, it feels, even if it was closer to two months. It wasn't that long, but... Sokka's still touched.]

I'll go take a look then.

[He follows Aang back that direction. He certainly notices Aang being down, but he's never been the best comforter. Still he says something.]

You know, when you were gone during the draft, Ikki would go on for hours about you. All the bad stuff, clearly. I probably heard her say the name "Twinkle Toes" once.

[Whether that's true or not... well...]

Now that's just silly, Sokka. Ikki has even twinklier toes than me! [That settles that. He wanders through the open door, leading him towards the letter and things that had been left for Sokka.]

But this should be it...

[Well, he may not have laughed, but at least he responded with a silly saying. Really, that's about as successful as Sokka hopes to be. He'd have cracked a wide grin ordinarily except... well, he too was struggling with Ikki gone.

He sees the letter and a couple of wind-up dolls, one of which looks like him... or at least the older version of him. And Suki, Aang, and others. There's a hint of jealousy at the thought of his previous self getting to spend more time with Ikki than he did, but Sokka knows it's a stupid sentiment. Instead he takes and opens the letter and reads it.

And it hits him pretty hard in so many ways.]

[Aang gives him some space as he reads it, arranging some of the other letters and gifts, while he waits for Sokka to finish.]

[Sokka sniffs a bit as he finishes the letter. Of course, he's not supposed to say why Ikki's words make him sad, but that doesn't keep him from actually mentioning it.]

They make a statue of me in the future!

[Honestly, if there's one thing Sokka ever needs, it's reassurance that he's a worthwhile member of the team, that he's able to make a difference to those around him. Ikki's letter is full of that.

Of course, his more personal relationship with Ikki here in Luceti are important too. He still felt bad for not going on the draft, but he was glad to know that his staying behind meant something to someone.]

Man, I am going to miss that kid. I was just getting used to the idea of Uncle Sokka. Telling her all of our stories. Walking around the village. Giving her snacks when she shouldn't have them. Sorry about that.

You gave her snacks?! [He shakes his head.] Nevermind. [He looks at his bro with a fond smile.]

I'm gonna miss her, too. It really is great spending time with her, right? And you'll always be Uncle Sokka, even now that she's not here.

[He picks up a bit of a solemn smile at Aang's forgiveness and kind words. That's really all he needed to get his motivation back.]

Yeah it was.

[And his smile broadens even further as his eyes glaze over as if envisioning something. His voice becomes quiet, as if mesmerized by something.]

Uncle Sokka.

[Yeah, he's totally going to make a sign on his door saying that.]

[Action - House 56]

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[Action - House 56]

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[Action - House 56]

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[Action - House 56]

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[Raven sees Sokka before she makes her departure from House Avatar, and like last time, it sends a nail right through her heart. He looks so young, he doesn't know anything about how things used to be.

She wants neutral ground. She leaves a note for him to come to the smithy, but only if he wants to know about his past here. That's not neutral ground at all but it's mutually friendly and less crowded, and she can retreat into her work while she waits to see if he even shows up.]

[It takes a small while for Sokka to find Raven's note, in part because Sokka took a little time to himself to process Ikki's note before coming across Raven's. However, once he sees the invitation to come to the smithy—and more particularly why to come to the smithy—Sokka doesn't even hesitate. He immediately starts the long march north through the village. He's been curious about what exactly Raven meant the whole time, and... it's about time he finds out for real who he was before.

Sokka enters the Slash and Crash from the front door, the door he came through in order to pick up his trusty Boomerang and also select a sword to use. But, presuming he doesn't find Raven there, he will actually knock on the door leading to the work floor before pulling it open just a little and peeking in.]

Raven?

[Oh, she had no idea it would hurt so much to hear that voice say her name in this room. Raven emerges from the back before he can reach the door, intercepting him with his hand nearly on it.]

Hey.

[That hurts, too, a fresh hurt that she tried to bury and ultimately died burying. So much of him is missing...and she isn't sure she can have faith that he is still the same Sokka, in there.]

You used to work here. I wanted to ask if you want your job back.

[The breaking of the quiet with the suddenly voice rattles Sokka a bit. His hand around the door tenses slightly before he just lets go to turn to the girl that he had apparently missed in the back. He frowns a bit—not necessarily at the thought of her but upon the reflection of the conversation they had over the journals a while ago. There are a lot of words that come to mind, but he knows many of them aren't productive words. He'd already tried some, after all.

Nonetheless, he acknowledges her with a nod.]

I already know that much. I was actually going to ask if I could come back.

[Even before Ikki had gone back, he had come to that conclusion. He just hadn't yet acted upon that decision. Today though, it seems a good day to live the rest of his life.]

And if you're actually asking, then I'm in.

[Raven's eyes widen. He wants to come back?]

Do you still know how to make weapons?

[That's about the only requirement for blacksmithing.]

Well, if there's one thing I won't do, I won't lie about it. If what I've heard is even half true, I... I certainly don't have the experience or skills I would have had when I was here last time.

[That certainly isn't the best way to sell himself.]

But, I do know the process. Master Piandao made me forge my first real blade several years ago. [He takes out the boomerang from the sheath on his black.] After losing my father's boomerang in the final battle against the Fire Nation's army, I couldn't bear to just buy another one, so I made this to replace it. To be honest, I really can't tell the difference between this one and the original.

[He walks over a few steps to her, kneeling down and presenting the boomerang to her should she wish to inspect it.]

[What the heck, Sokka.

Raven takes the boomerang only because he's so ceremonial about it; Sokka is the only person she ever knew who fought with something like this, and she's not a weaponsmith, so she can't quite differentiate between good and great and excellent.

But maybe he isn't as young as she thinks on sight.]

Looks good to me. [She hands it back, making sure to catch eye contact with him after he stands again.] Don't throw it around in here. You'll get your experience back.

[If you stay.

Raven keeps looking at him, like maybe some force will say the next words for her so she won't have to. Alas.]

We were friends. [This Raven, here, this one so changed from a Raven that this Sokka never knew, can no longer keep painful memories from coloring her voice.] I can't force you to be friends again.

[Forgive Sokka for having a flair for the dramatic.

Nevertheless, he takes the boomerang back and looks back to Raven as she talks. Don't throw the boomerang inside the building, the same old drill. He nods along with that.] Right, no boomerang throwing, gotcha. [However, everything beyond that... seems quite sentimental for Raven (or at least what he knew of Raven), especially considering how distant she's been to Sokka so far.]

Why couldn't we be friends? Of course we could be friends again! I'm great at being friends!

[He spreads out his hands as if inviting a big hug. But then Sokka turns more serious.]

Okay, so I came here in part because I want to work here because I feel I can do some good to Luceti by helping people be prepared here.

But more than that, I came here because... well, you said it in your note. I wanted to know the past. And I don't see a reason to let the past... stay in the past.

Most people who come back don't want to know, if they don't remember.

[Sokka was always different. Already she feels fractionally more comfortable with him.]

It's easier if...you ask questions, and I answer.

[But she will cover the important things when he misses them.]

[Sokka... definitely doesn't respond the way most people do. For some reason, filling in the gaps of his past seems only to bring him more comfort. At least that way, he knows what he's really working with.

~~Plus, Sokka's got a natural curiosity.~~

At any rate, with the permission to start asking all the questions, well, that opens the floodgates. Has Sokka got questions? Do Lucetians have wings?

He leans against the counter a little non-chalantly.]

Well, there are a few things I think I already know. I'm guessing you and I worked here together? And I'm pretty sure you and I became pretty close friends as we got to know each other.

[He also guesses that simply asking the question "What happened between us?" is probably also useless as a question given her... nondescript answers.]

How did we actually meet? Did... we have some sort of shift thing happen to us?

... Did I tell you my deepest, darkest secrets?

[The habit of his to flail and talk fast, she isn't used to that anymore either.]

We were on a draft. [Remembering it would make her smile if not for how serious it was.] You were protecting people and stuck your sword into the wall outlet to defeat an Elite warrior, and you died.

[She thought it was a really stupid idea at the time. Still does.]

[Well that's not what he was expecting. Then again, he really isn't sure what he was expecting the story to be in all honesty. But that's certainly not the whole of the story; after all, after people die, they come back, or so he read.

Nonetheless, at least he did something brave and courageous to protect others. That made him feel good. ~~Even if it was a really stupid idea.~~]

So I saved your life back. And so after they revived me and dropped me back in Luceti, you and I met up after that and became fast friends? And we started making weapons together?