(no subject)
Who: Suki and Sokka
What: Last date (for awhile)
When: Tonight
Where: The town, stairwells of Paradisa
Suki wasn't the most girly of girls. Still, that didn't stop her from dressing up on what she assumed was going to be her last date with Sokka for awhile. Too long she thought briefly, then mentally chided herself. A week was nothing--she had just been spoiled by all the fun they had had. Still, it was nice to wear a dress, to put on a little make up that wasn't essentially warpaint, and to brush her hair until it shown. She knocked on Sokka's door, full of anticipation, and with a huge smile.
The first clothes that Sokka had grabbed from his closet that morning were rather nice ones, and he cursed the castle for stalking him and knowing he was going to be out on an all-day long date. He changed into them though, and upon looking in his mirror, admitted that his wolf-tail looked rather silly. So he took out the hair tie, and smoothed out his hair - which was getting pretty long. After smoothing it out, he ran a hand through it, then shook it, rather pleased with the result. He flashed himself what he considered a sexy grin, then ran to open the door at the knock. "Hey Suki!"
Her eyes widened at the sight of him, and she was surprised to find herself blushing--almost as a reflex. She giggled, and reached a hand towards his head, brushing her fingertips to his hair. "Well don't you look nice!" She grinned, then tilted her head towards the stairway. "Are you ready? I've been trying to imagine what sort of things they could have in the village basically all day." That was true. If the castle was capable of magic boxes that cooked food, no telling what the village was capable of.
He grinned back at her and made sure his hair was in place again. "You look pretty nice yourself." Stepping out from his room, he stood beside her and closed the door behind himself. "There'll probably be village creeps, psycho axe murderers, a nice weapon shop, and maybe some restaurants or two." He held out his elbow for her to take. "Ready when you are!"
She took it, laughing. "Psycho axe murders? You sure know just what a girl wants to hear." They set off down the hall to the stairs. "Although a weapons shop would be great. Ino showed me her..ku..kunai? It was really cool. I'd love to see one of those again." Or anything, really--it seemed as if the people in this castle were the owners of many very unusual weapons.
He shrugged defensively. "Well, you never know! There sure are a lot of those here." He started off down the stairs, surprised there were less holes and random chunkls of wall than before. Maybe the castle repaired itself? "Yeah, Ino's got like some exploding paper too. It was crazy!" Sokka would definitely love some of that exploding paper for himself... He'd probably end up putting one outside Zuko's room. Just for kicks. you know.
"Exploding paper?" She laughed. "I'd love to see that...it seems like Ino's got a lot of cool things--I wonder what her home world is like..." It wasn't long before they found themselves outside of the castle. "Isn't it a beautiful day?" She inhaled deeply, and grinned. "It's getting warmer and warmer--this world's seasons must be changing. It's getting to spring I think!"
Spring was a scent he knew pretty well, considering how much time they spent in the Earth Kingdom. It reminded him of his mission, and what he should be doing... but he quickly pushed it into the back of his mind. This was supposed to be a day without work. "Yeah, it's pretty nice. But seriously, I think I'm starting to miss snow."
"Snow? You're crazy!" Growing up in the Earth Kingdom, she was much more used to the warm spring weather. Besides, warmer weather meant longer days, days to share going to a village with someone you cared about. She pointed to a cluster of daffodils with a smile. "How can you miss snow when such pretty flowers have started blooming?"
"Hey, I'd only seen flowers like that in books until I left with Aang," he frowned. If it really was starting to be spring, then he wasn't going to be seeing a snow-covered Paraidsa for a very long time. Hopefully though, he wouldn't be staying long enough to see such a sight. He noted the town gates ahead and quickened his pace.
"Ah, I think I see the town just up ahead!" She matched his pace. "The flowers here are definitely different than the ones I'm used to--they're still really nice though. And those yellow ones have the strangest shape!" While flowers were of some interest to her, she decided that Sokka probably wasn't exactly captivated by the subject, so she switched gears. "What do you want to do first in town--shop or eat?"
"Mmm..." There was some weird, flaky food (cereal, or something) that he had eaten first thing that morning, so he wasn't that hungry, surprisingly. "Shop," he decided as he set food onto the nice, stone streets of the town. The people were bustling everywhere, and Sokka looked around. "So uh, where do we start?"
She didn't answer him immediately--she was too captivated by the activity buzzing around her. Sure, the castle was an active place--but it was active in the schitzophrenic way a place assaulted by serial killers and invisible monsters could only be. The normalness of this town overwhellmed her. I've been in Paradisa too long she thought. She shook her head to snap out of it. "Oh um...where ever you want is fine." She was too dizzy at the moment to really care.
He turned his head slightly and raised his eyebrow. "You okay?" Putting his hand on her shoulder, he patted it and continued to look around. "To be honest, even if they did have any signs, I doubt we could read it..."
She laughed. "I'm fine! I just haven't been in a town in a really long time!" Ever since leaving Kyoshi, she had visited few populated areas--excluding Full Moon Bay (which probably didn't even count.) "Yeah, I don't see any signs...I guess we just pick a shop at random?" She pointed to a shop directly across from where they stood. "How about there?"
"Uhh, sure." He grabbed her wrist and started towards it. Upon entering, he was greeted with the strong smell of herbs, spices and incense. It was a bit overwhelming. "Woah," he shook his head a little, trying to clear it. "This is a medicine shop. Don't think we can get daggers here."
She let herself be led, but upon entering the shop she snatched her hands back in order to cover her face. "Oh my! This...this place is fragrant." She sneezed, a sound muffled slightly by her hands. "I think...I think this is more of a place your sister would be interested in or..." She sneezed again.
"Yeah, let's go someplace else." Quickly, he turned on his heel and welcomed the fresh air with a big inhale. He scanned the row of buildings, searching for larger ones that looked like public places. "Where do you think the weapon stuff is?"
She gratefully breathed in the clean air. "Hmm, I don't know...maybe next door?" She didn't have a particular logic behind her guesses--but next door seemed as good as anywhere else could be. This time she took his hand and led him. When they got into the shop, she immediately began to giggle--it was a shop full of very frilly ladies clothing.
He frowned, and his mind jumped back to when Suki was trying to get him into wear her dress. Figuring that was probably why she was giggling, she tugged on her hand, hoping he'd get away with it this time. "Come on, we're looking for daggers, not dresses!"
She let herself be led out, still laughing. "Are you sure you didn't see anything in there you'd like?" Once back on the street, she gave the street another glance. "Maybe you should pick this time--it seems like I'm not so good at this!" Although Sokka's face in the woman's clothing store was a sight she appreciated.
"Uhhh..." In the distance, he noted several people filing in and out of a larger building. "How about over there?" He led Suki down the street and into the building, only to be greeted by rows and rows of food. It was a grocery store, and since the kitchen was out, it didn't seem to hurt to get some supplies. "I could use a little something..." He grabbed a basket and started walking.
She nodded her assent and followed. It took a lot of control not to stop and stare at every strange sight she came across. "It seems like food is always on your brain." She laughed slightly, and paused to observe a small basket of plums. "These look good..." She grabbed one for closer examination. "And such a pretty color."
"What can I say," he said, paying more attention to what was probably going into his stomach rather than what was coming out of his mouth. "It's tasty." Moving down the aisle, he grabbed several more things he deemed 'edible' and stuffed them in his basket. Before heading back, he turned to face Suki. "You want anything I'll buy it if you want."
She grinned, and placed the plum back. "I'm okay, thanks though. It looks like kitchen is repairing itself, so I'm not too worried." She didn't mention that she was placing herself on a strict diet for the next week--besides, she didn't want to get caught up in talk about her planned week of grueling training. Not with today being so nice and relaxed.
He shrugged. "If you say so." He paid for his food at the cashier, and with a small bag in one hand, exited onto the street. "Now, let's find that weapon shop, shall we? I hope I have enough money left to buy myself some good stuff..."
"I can always help you out if you need it." Her purse was full. She glanced around, and noticed a man coming from a shop clutching what appeared to be sword. She frowned slightly, remembering Sokka's axe murder comments from before, but pointed him out anyways. "It seems like that guy just got a sword--maybe that's the weapon shop we've been looking for?"
"Hey, you might be right!" Sokka grinned, and happily made his way into the store, and inhaled the wonderful smell of metal, leather... and whatever other smells might inhabit a weapon store. "This place is amazing..." He took in everything he could set his eyes on, in total awe of so many things he had never seen before. Rubbing his hands together, he grinned. "Where do I start...?"
She followed, and gasped immediately upon entering. She had never seen so many...well, shiney dangerous things in one place before. It was kind of cool. In a weapon-induced trance, she wandered over to a display of knives and began pursing, with muttered 'oohs' and 'ahhs'. For a moment, she almost entirely forgot Sokka was in the shop with her--but when she head his voice, she turned to him with a slightly embarassed grin. "You could always check out their boomerangs."
"I've already got my trusted boomerang," he replied, patting his weapon on his back. Regardless, he walked over to where they were and picked one up, running his hand over the blade. It was a really nice weapon, but he definitely wasn't going to give up the present he recieved from his father. He began to wander a little more until he came across the clubs. Picking one nice-looking one up, he examined it. Ever since Appa was taken, he had needed a new club, since it was on the saddle and that had disappeared.
Suki occupied herself with the knives and daggers section. Honestly, she couldn't believe that so many types of knives could even exist--she picked up a beautifully engraved dirk, slid it from its sheath, and held it up to the light. She whistled softly, then pressed the edge gently against her forearm. Sharp. She set it carefully aside and picked up a strangely curved type of knife she had never seen before. She nodded in approval.
Sokka picked up the next club, and with satisfaction, noticed how much it looked like a Water Tribe weapon. He swung it a little before deciding it was a good replacement. Passing the swords on his way to the counter, he remembered why he never bothered picking one up: it was too common, and if he had a meat bun for every swordsman in the castle, he'd be pretty fat. After paying for his new toy, he found Suki and quietly walked up behind her.
She had a dirk in each hand, and was carefully weighing one against the other, lips pursed in concentration. Finally, she settled on the slightly curved one--it's sheath and handle were a little plainer, but she found it handled nicely--plus it was a little lighter. Satisfied, she stood and turned quickly around..only to almost run into Sokka. She made a small squeak of surprise, before her face adjusted into slight grin. "Geez! You scared me!"
"Hehehehe," he chuckled at her and pointed to the dirk her hand. "You gonna get that? Want me to pay?" he offered. This was supposed to be somewhat like a date after all, and he felt the need to wait on hand and foot for her. He had plenty of money left over, but reminded himself that they still would need lunch, and probably dinner later.
"While it's exceedingly romantic that you'd offer to pay for my knife, I've got it covered." She grinned, then scooted past him to the counter. After paying the man, she turned back. "I hope you're ready to go--I'm starving!" For once she was the hungry one.
"Yeah, I'm kinda hungry too," he grinned and linked arms with her, leading them outside. "So, what and where do you want to eat?" Being the food machine he was, he didn't really mind what he ate. Just trying to accomodate the lady, you know.
She briefly rested her head on his shoulder as she surveyed the street. "Hm, I think I see a cafe over there. Let's check it out!" They made their way to a small faux-french cafe. She was immediately entranced. "Oh look! They have a cute out-door table and everything!" She turned to him with a smile/ "Is this okay?"
It was kinda cute, he admitted to himself, and took a seat at one of the outdoor tables. "Yeah! Perfectly fine. Whatever you want," he paused, and then continued in a mock-gentleman voice, "My dear." He pulled out the chair beside him and motioned for her to sit down in it.
She giggled, and inclined her head. "Thank you very much, sir." She drawled, then leaned foreward to kiss him quickly on the cheek. He was being too cute. She then turned her attention to the menu at hand. "I wonder what kind of food they serve here..." She looked up and smirked, "For your sake, I hope it's full of meat."
He blushed a little at the kiss, and with an embarassed grin, buried his face into the menu. Surprisingly, he could read it. "Mmm, meat..." he murmured and scanned the poultry. Deciding on a hardy ham sandwich, he leaned over to Suki. "So, whatcha getting?"
"The special!" She liked surprises. Even if the surprises happened to be something very foreign sounding. "The kro--krosawnt. With Bry-ie cheese. And grapes." She nodded, pleased with herself and feeling very exotic. "What about you?"
"Ham sandwich," he grinned, and felt very hungry all of a sudden. "You might wanna share that special, I'm kinda starving." He scanned the area and waved down a waiter. "Do you mind?"
She laughed, "You're a man of simple taste. And I'd be more than happy to share." At the waiters arrival, she gestured to her choice on the menu, suddenly self conscious about her pronunciation. "And a water, please." She grinned towards Sokka. "I think he wants the ham sandwich."
"Yeah, ham sandwich," he handed the waiter his menu and thanked him, then turned towards Suki. "So, uhhh... How do you like the town so far?" Sokka was terrible at small talk, but he did it anyway.
"It's really..." she paused, and glanced over her shoulder at the town surrounding them. "...busy." She laughed, "Sorry, I guess that's kind of a boring answer. I guess it's not so different from other towns I've seen...but at the same time, it's incredibly foreign." She grinned. "I get the feeling I'm not making much sense. What do you think about it?"
Leaning over, he rested his elbow on the table and put his head in his hand. "Yeah you make sense. I think it's kinda strange, though. People dress weirdly, but I think I should be used to that by now, what with the people in the castle and stuff." He shrugged, and sniffed the air. "But whatever's cooking in that restaurant smells really good..."
"Yeah, people here have really strange clothes." Strange but comfortable, she had decided. She noticed their waiter heading back with two plates, "Wow, the service here is great--I guess it doesn't take much to make a ham sandwich." She smiled at their waiter in his return, and took a moment to observe her plate. She had been a little nervous--but the bread and cheese and fruit all looked normal. She grinned in relief.
When it came to food, Sokka never hesitated. He took the plate with a nod and hurriedly took a big bite. "Mmm," he nodded in approval and pointed to his lunch. "This is really good! How about yours?"
She took a bite of the cheese and smiled. "It's good--try some!" she pushed her plate towards him. Watching him eat put a larger grin on her face, and she shook her head with the slighest laugh. "I think you eat more than anyone I know." On an impulse, she reached her hand across the table and placed it on his forearm. "I'm really going to miss you this week..."
Nodding in thanks, Sokka took a small bite of everything. With a full mouth, he exclaimed, "This is tasty," then went back to his sandwich. When she touched her arm, he quickly turned to look at her and swallowed. "Yeah, I'm gonna miss you too." He leaned forward and gave her a hug.
She hugged him back, and was tempted to linger in the embrace--but the public setting kept her in line, and instead she set about to finishing her food. She looked up to the sky and noticed the sun was already on it's descent. With a slight frown, she commented. "Whenever your ready we should probably head back to the castle...it's getting kind of late."
"Yeah..." he sat back straight in his chair, then quickly gobbled up the rest of his food. He left the money for the waiter on the table then stood, stretching. "Well, time to go back to hell and psychos." He didn't really want this to end, but it was about time he started researching again. All the chaos had put him way behind.
She stood with him, and took his hand. "Maybe the psychos will calm down this week?" She sure hoped so. They began the walk back, and while she was tempted to go as slow as possible, she kept a brisk pace. "It seems like the castle is fixing itself. I have to say I'll be little sad to have you out of my room."
"Yep, I'm gonna miss those six extra flights of stairs," he stuck his tongue out at her, trying not to fall behind. "Seriously though, good luck on your training. We don't want you to have scary broken hands again." Leaning his back against the castle door, he pushed it open.
She rolled her eyes, and poked his stomach. "The extra exercise was good for you." They started up the flight of stairs, and quickly enough they were at Sokka's floor. Stopping in front of his door, she grinned and teased. "I thought you were supposed to walk your date back to her door."
"Would you like me to, madame?" He grinned back and motioned away towards the next flight of stairs up. It felt kinda weird just stopping at the tenth floor; he might just end up running laps around the castle to make up for it.
She laughed, "I'd enjoy the company..." she took his hand again, and made her way at a (slightly) more leisurely pace up the next six flights of stairs. She was sure she was going to get to know these stairs even more intimately during her training. Finally, they stopped at her door. She put a hand to doorknob, then stopped and turned to face him. "Well...thanks for the escourt. I had a really nice night."
He grabbed her hand off the doorknob and leaned forward, kissing her. He lingered there before pulling back slowly and meeting her eyes. "I'm really going to miss you," And your eyes, he added in his head. Squeezing her hands tighter, he said, "Don't do anything stupid or I might have to feed you to the monsters, okay?"
She let herself enjoy the parting kiss--it would be her last for awhile--and when he pulled away she sighed just slightly. "I'll miss you too. And be sure you take yourself--monster feeding goes double for you." She began to turn away, but on a final impulse, she turned back and gave him a final farewell hug. Then with a smile, she turned to her room. "Goodnight, Sokka. I'll see you soon."
Smiling a little, he waved as she turned around. Quite satisfied with his day, he turned on his heel and headed back down to his room. Hopefully, this week would go by quickly and without chaos, and leave him to MAYBE get somewhere in his research. Maybe.
What: Last date (for awhile)
When: Tonight
Where: The town, stairwells of Paradisa
Suki wasn't the most girly of girls. Still, that didn't stop her from dressing up on what she assumed was going to be her last date with Sokka for awhile. Too long she thought briefly, then mentally chided herself. A week was nothing--she had just been spoiled by all the fun they had had. Still, it was nice to wear a dress, to put on a little make up that wasn't essentially warpaint, and to brush her hair until it shown. She knocked on Sokka's door, full of anticipation, and with a huge smile.
The first clothes that Sokka had grabbed from his closet that morning were rather nice ones, and he cursed the castle for stalking him and knowing he was going to be out on an all-day long date. He changed into them though, and upon looking in his mirror, admitted that his wolf-tail looked rather silly. So he took out the hair tie, and smoothed out his hair - which was getting pretty long. After smoothing it out, he ran a hand through it, then shook it, rather pleased with the result. He flashed himself what he considered a sexy grin, then ran to open the door at the knock. "Hey Suki!"
Her eyes widened at the sight of him, and she was surprised to find herself blushing--almost as a reflex. She giggled, and reached a hand towards his head, brushing her fingertips to his hair. "Well don't you look nice!" She grinned, then tilted her head towards the stairway. "Are you ready? I've been trying to imagine what sort of things they could have in the village basically all day." That was true. If the castle was capable of magic boxes that cooked food, no telling what the village was capable of.
He grinned back at her and made sure his hair was in place again. "You look pretty nice yourself." Stepping out from his room, he stood beside her and closed the door behind himself. "There'll probably be village creeps, psycho axe murderers, a nice weapon shop, and maybe some restaurants or two." He held out his elbow for her to take. "Ready when you are!"
She took it, laughing. "Psycho axe murders? You sure know just what a girl wants to hear." They set off down the hall to the stairs. "Although a weapons shop would be great. Ino showed me her..ku..kunai? It was really cool. I'd love to see one of those again." Or anything, really--it seemed as if the people in this castle were the owners of many very unusual weapons.
He shrugged defensively. "Well, you never know! There sure are a lot of those here." He started off down the stairs, surprised there were less holes and random chunkls of wall than before. Maybe the castle repaired itself? "Yeah, Ino's got like some exploding paper too. It was crazy!" Sokka would definitely love some of that exploding paper for himself... He'd probably end up putting one outside Zuko's room. Just for kicks. you know.
"Exploding paper?" She laughed. "I'd love to see that...it seems like Ino's got a lot of cool things--I wonder what her home world is like..." It wasn't long before they found themselves outside of the castle. "Isn't it a beautiful day?" She inhaled deeply, and grinned. "It's getting warmer and warmer--this world's seasons must be changing. It's getting to spring I think!"
Spring was a scent he knew pretty well, considering how much time they spent in the Earth Kingdom. It reminded him of his mission, and what he should be doing... but he quickly pushed it into the back of his mind. This was supposed to be a day without work. "Yeah, it's pretty nice. But seriously, I think I'm starting to miss snow."
"Snow? You're crazy!" Growing up in the Earth Kingdom, she was much more used to the warm spring weather. Besides, warmer weather meant longer days, days to share going to a village with someone you cared about. She pointed to a cluster of daffodils with a smile. "How can you miss snow when such pretty flowers have started blooming?"
"Hey, I'd only seen flowers like that in books until I left with Aang," he frowned. If it really was starting to be spring, then he wasn't going to be seeing a snow-covered Paraidsa for a very long time. Hopefully though, he wouldn't be staying long enough to see such a sight. He noted the town gates ahead and quickened his pace.
"Ah, I think I see the town just up ahead!" She matched his pace. "The flowers here are definitely different than the ones I'm used to--they're still really nice though. And those yellow ones have the strangest shape!" While flowers were of some interest to her, she decided that Sokka probably wasn't exactly captivated by the subject, so she switched gears. "What do you want to do first in town--shop or eat?"
"Mmm..." There was some weird, flaky food (cereal, or something) that he had eaten first thing that morning, so he wasn't that hungry, surprisingly. "Shop," he decided as he set food onto the nice, stone streets of the town. The people were bustling everywhere, and Sokka looked around. "So uh, where do we start?"
She didn't answer him immediately--she was too captivated by the activity buzzing around her. Sure, the castle was an active place--but it was active in the schitzophrenic way a place assaulted by serial killers and invisible monsters could only be. The normalness of this town overwhellmed her. I've been in Paradisa too long she thought. She shook her head to snap out of it. "Oh um...where ever you want is fine." She was too dizzy at the moment to really care.
He turned his head slightly and raised his eyebrow. "You okay?" Putting his hand on her shoulder, he patted it and continued to look around. "To be honest, even if they did have any signs, I doubt we could read it..."
She laughed. "I'm fine! I just haven't been in a town in a really long time!" Ever since leaving Kyoshi, she had visited few populated areas--excluding Full Moon Bay (which probably didn't even count.) "Yeah, I don't see any signs...I guess we just pick a shop at random?" She pointed to a shop directly across from where they stood. "How about there?"
"Uhh, sure." He grabbed her wrist and started towards it. Upon entering, he was greeted with the strong smell of herbs, spices and incense. It was a bit overwhelming. "Woah," he shook his head a little, trying to clear it. "This is a medicine shop. Don't think we can get daggers here."
She let herself be led, but upon entering the shop she snatched her hands back in order to cover her face. "Oh my! This...this place is fragrant." She sneezed, a sound muffled slightly by her hands. "I think...I think this is more of a place your sister would be interested in or..." She sneezed again.
"Yeah, let's go someplace else." Quickly, he turned on his heel and welcomed the fresh air with a big inhale. He scanned the row of buildings, searching for larger ones that looked like public places. "Where do you think the weapon stuff is?"
She gratefully breathed in the clean air. "Hmm, I don't know...maybe next door?" She didn't have a particular logic behind her guesses--but next door seemed as good as anywhere else could be. This time she took his hand and led him. When they got into the shop, she immediately began to giggle--it was a shop full of very frilly ladies clothing.
He frowned, and his mind jumped back to when Suki was trying to get him into wear her dress. Figuring that was probably why she was giggling, she tugged on her hand, hoping he'd get away with it this time. "Come on, we're looking for daggers, not dresses!"
She let herself be led out, still laughing. "Are you sure you didn't see anything in there you'd like?" Once back on the street, she gave the street another glance. "Maybe you should pick this time--it seems like I'm not so good at this!" Although Sokka's face in the woman's clothing store was a sight she appreciated.
"Uhhh..." In the distance, he noted several people filing in and out of a larger building. "How about over there?" He led Suki down the street and into the building, only to be greeted by rows and rows of food. It was a grocery store, and since the kitchen was out, it didn't seem to hurt to get some supplies. "I could use a little something..." He grabbed a basket and started walking.
She nodded her assent and followed. It took a lot of control not to stop and stare at every strange sight she came across. "It seems like food is always on your brain." She laughed slightly, and paused to observe a small basket of plums. "These look good..." She grabbed one for closer examination. "And such a pretty color."
"What can I say," he said, paying more attention to what was probably going into his stomach rather than what was coming out of his mouth. "It's tasty." Moving down the aisle, he grabbed several more things he deemed 'edible' and stuffed them in his basket. Before heading back, he turned to face Suki. "You want anything I'll buy it if you want."
She grinned, and placed the plum back. "I'm okay, thanks though. It looks like kitchen is repairing itself, so I'm not too worried." She didn't mention that she was placing herself on a strict diet for the next week--besides, she didn't want to get caught up in talk about her planned week of grueling training. Not with today being so nice and relaxed.
He shrugged. "If you say so." He paid for his food at the cashier, and with a small bag in one hand, exited onto the street. "Now, let's find that weapon shop, shall we? I hope I have enough money left to buy myself some good stuff..."
"I can always help you out if you need it." Her purse was full. She glanced around, and noticed a man coming from a shop clutching what appeared to be sword. She frowned slightly, remembering Sokka's axe murder comments from before, but pointed him out anyways. "It seems like that guy just got a sword--maybe that's the weapon shop we've been looking for?"
"Hey, you might be right!" Sokka grinned, and happily made his way into the store, and inhaled the wonderful smell of metal, leather... and whatever other smells might inhabit a weapon store. "This place is amazing..." He took in everything he could set his eyes on, in total awe of so many things he had never seen before. Rubbing his hands together, he grinned. "Where do I start...?"
She followed, and gasped immediately upon entering. She had never seen so many...well, shiney dangerous things in one place before. It was kind of cool. In a weapon-induced trance, she wandered over to a display of knives and began pursing, with muttered 'oohs' and 'ahhs'. For a moment, she almost entirely forgot Sokka was in the shop with her--but when she head his voice, she turned to him with a slightly embarassed grin. "You could always check out their boomerangs."
"I've already got my trusted boomerang," he replied, patting his weapon on his back. Regardless, he walked over to where they were and picked one up, running his hand over the blade. It was a really nice weapon, but he definitely wasn't going to give up the present he recieved from his father. He began to wander a little more until he came across the clubs. Picking one nice-looking one up, he examined it. Ever since Appa was taken, he had needed a new club, since it was on the saddle and that had disappeared.
Suki occupied herself with the knives and daggers section. Honestly, she couldn't believe that so many types of knives could even exist--she picked up a beautifully engraved dirk, slid it from its sheath, and held it up to the light. She whistled softly, then pressed the edge gently against her forearm. Sharp. She set it carefully aside and picked up a strangely curved type of knife she had never seen before. She nodded in approval.
Sokka picked up the next club, and with satisfaction, noticed how much it looked like a Water Tribe weapon. He swung it a little before deciding it was a good replacement. Passing the swords on his way to the counter, he remembered why he never bothered picking one up: it was too common, and if he had a meat bun for every swordsman in the castle, he'd be pretty fat. After paying for his new toy, he found Suki and quietly walked up behind her.
She had a dirk in each hand, and was carefully weighing one against the other, lips pursed in concentration. Finally, she settled on the slightly curved one--it's sheath and handle were a little plainer, but she found it handled nicely--plus it was a little lighter. Satisfied, she stood and turned quickly around..only to almost run into Sokka. She made a small squeak of surprise, before her face adjusted into slight grin. "Geez! You scared me!"
"Hehehehe," he chuckled at her and pointed to the dirk her hand. "You gonna get that? Want me to pay?" he offered. This was supposed to be somewhat like a date after all, and he felt the need to wait on hand and foot for her. He had plenty of money left over, but reminded himself that they still would need lunch, and probably dinner later.
"While it's exceedingly romantic that you'd offer to pay for my knife, I've got it covered." She grinned, then scooted past him to the counter. After paying the man, she turned back. "I hope you're ready to go--I'm starving!" For once she was the hungry one.
"Yeah, I'm kinda hungry too," he grinned and linked arms with her, leading them outside. "So, what and where do you want to eat?" Being the food machine he was, he didn't really mind what he ate. Just trying to accomodate the lady, you know.
She briefly rested her head on his shoulder as she surveyed the street. "Hm, I think I see a cafe over there. Let's check it out!" They made their way to a small faux-french cafe. She was immediately entranced. "Oh look! They have a cute out-door table and everything!" She turned to him with a smile/ "Is this okay?"
It was kinda cute, he admitted to himself, and took a seat at one of the outdoor tables. "Yeah! Perfectly fine. Whatever you want," he paused, and then continued in a mock-gentleman voice, "My dear." He pulled out the chair beside him and motioned for her to sit down in it.
She giggled, and inclined her head. "Thank you very much, sir." She drawled, then leaned foreward to kiss him quickly on the cheek. He was being too cute. She then turned her attention to the menu at hand. "I wonder what kind of food they serve here..." She looked up and smirked, "For your sake, I hope it's full of meat."
He blushed a little at the kiss, and with an embarassed grin, buried his face into the menu. Surprisingly, he could read it. "Mmm, meat..." he murmured and scanned the poultry. Deciding on a hardy ham sandwich, he leaned over to Suki. "So, whatcha getting?"
"The special!" She liked surprises. Even if the surprises happened to be something very foreign sounding. "The kro--krosawnt. With Bry-ie cheese. And grapes." She nodded, pleased with herself and feeling very exotic. "What about you?"
"Ham sandwich," he grinned, and felt very hungry all of a sudden. "You might wanna share that special, I'm kinda starving." He scanned the area and waved down a waiter. "Do you mind?"
She laughed, "You're a man of simple taste. And I'd be more than happy to share." At the waiters arrival, she gestured to her choice on the menu, suddenly self conscious about her pronunciation. "And a water, please." She grinned towards Sokka. "I think he wants the ham sandwich."
"Yeah, ham sandwich," he handed the waiter his menu and thanked him, then turned towards Suki. "So, uhhh... How do you like the town so far?" Sokka was terrible at small talk, but he did it anyway.
"It's really..." she paused, and glanced over her shoulder at the town surrounding them. "...busy." She laughed, "Sorry, I guess that's kind of a boring answer. I guess it's not so different from other towns I've seen...but at the same time, it's incredibly foreign." She grinned. "I get the feeling I'm not making much sense. What do you think about it?"
Leaning over, he rested his elbow on the table and put his head in his hand. "Yeah you make sense. I think it's kinda strange, though. People dress weirdly, but I think I should be used to that by now, what with the people in the castle and stuff." He shrugged, and sniffed the air. "But whatever's cooking in that restaurant smells really good..."
"Yeah, people here have really strange clothes." Strange but comfortable, she had decided. She noticed their waiter heading back with two plates, "Wow, the service here is great--I guess it doesn't take much to make a ham sandwich." She smiled at their waiter in his return, and took a moment to observe her plate. She had been a little nervous--but the bread and cheese and fruit all looked normal. She grinned in relief.
When it came to food, Sokka never hesitated. He took the plate with a nod and hurriedly took a big bite. "Mmm," he nodded in approval and pointed to his lunch. "This is really good! How about yours?"
She took a bite of the cheese and smiled. "It's good--try some!" she pushed her plate towards him. Watching him eat put a larger grin on her face, and she shook her head with the slighest laugh. "I think you eat more than anyone I know." On an impulse, she reached her hand across the table and placed it on his forearm. "I'm really going to miss you this week..."
Nodding in thanks, Sokka took a small bite of everything. With a full mouth, he exclaimed, "This is tasty," then went back to his sandwich. When she touched her arm, he quickly turned to look at her and swallowed. "Yeah, I'm gonna miss you too." He leaned forward and gave her a hug.
She hugged him back, and was tempted to linger in the embrace--but the public setting kept her in line, and instead she set about to finishing her food. She looked up to the sky and noticed the sun was already on it's descent. With a slight frown, she commented. "Whenever your ready we should probably head back to the castle...it's getting kind of late."
"Yeah..." he sat back straight in his chair, then quickly gobbled up the rest of his food. He left the money for the waiter on the table then stood, stretching. "Well, time to go back to hell and psychos." He didn't really want this to end, but it was about time he started researching again. All the chaos had put him way behind.
She stood with him, and took his hand. "Maybe the psychos will calm down this week?" She sure hoped so. They began the walk back, and while she was tempted to go as slow as possible, she kept a brisk pace. "It seems like the castle is fixing itself. I have to say I'll be little sad to have you out of my room."
"Yep, I'm gonna miss those six extra flights of stairs," he stuck his tongue out at her, trying not to fall behind. "Seriously though, good luck on your training. We don't want you to have scary broken hands again." Leaning his back against the castle door, he pushed it open.
She rolled her eyes, and poked his stomach. "The extra exercise was good for you." They started up the flight of stairs, and quickly enough they were at Sokka's floor. Stopping in front of his door, she grinned and teased. "I thought you were supposed to walk your date back to her door."
"Would you like me to, madame?" He grinned back and motioned away towards the next flight of stairs up. It felt kinda weird just stopping at the tenth floor; he might just end up running laps around the castle to make up for it.
She laughed, "I'd enjoy the company..." she took his hand again, and made her way at a (slightly) more leisurely pace up the next six flights of stairs. She was sure she was going to get to know these stairs even more intimately during her training. Finally, they stopped at her door. She put a hand to doorknob, then stopped and turned to face him. "Well...thanks for the escourt. I had a really nice night."
He grabbed her hand off the doorknob and leaned forward, kissing her. He lingered there before pulling back slowly and meeting her eyes. "I'm really going to miss you," And your eyes, he added in his head. Squeezing her hands tighter, he said, "Don't do anything stupid or I might have to feed you to the monsters, okay?"
She let herself enjoy the parting kiss--it would be her last for awhile--and when he pulled away she sighed just slightly. "I'll miss you too. And be sure you take yourself--monster feeding goes double for you." She began to turn away, but on a final impulse, she turned back and gave him a final farewell hug. Then with a smile, she turned to her room. "Goodnight, Sokka. I'll see you soon."
Smiling a little, he waved as she turned around. Quite satisfied with his day, he turned on his heel and headed back down to his room. Hopefully, this week would go by quickly and without chaos, and leave him to MAYBE get somewhere in his research. Maybe.