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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.]
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.]
[Action - House 56]
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.
[Action - House 56]
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.
[Action - House 56]
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]
[Action - House 56]
[Sokka's just got that feeling (and a grin to match) like he's obtained some newfound purpose in life.
Little does he know that just a few days hence, he actually would end up being Uncle Sokka again in fact instead of just in his head.]
[Action - House 56]
But he tries to look like he's in a better mood than he is, as he gets up to cross the room.]
I- I should get ready to give out more of these letters...
[Action - House 56]
Yeah, probably. Ikki would want that.
[And with that, Sokka heads outside for a few moments to clear his head.]