Grounding and Centering

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara had her time to laugh and her time to cry after finding out about her world. She'd had fun with her Outsider friends, she'd broke down in front of a person she would rather have not done that with and she was still adjusting to recent events. Throughout all that had happened, there was still the silver lining: Toph was here, and now there

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[top_teen_38]

He found his way here by Katara's scent, and was immediately impressed by the raw beauty.

"So... This is yer world?" Slobo said, almost reluctantly. He knew that he had stumbled across her secret nirvana, but he also wanted her to know people cared.

"Ya can tell me about it anytime ya'd like..."

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara was a little surprised by the interruption, but relaxed once she saw that it was Slobo. In fact, his very presence seemed to make the little island she was standing on feel a bit more lively, if one could sense something like that. In any case, she gestured toward an empty spot next to her, if he wanted to sit.

"This is the spirit oasis in the Northern Water Tribe," she said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. The thought of not seeing the place in person made her a little sad. "When we had our first participation in an assault by the Fire Nation, it was here my frriend Aang meditated and crossed over to the spirit world. It's also the home of Tui and La, earthbound water spirits. See them there, in the water, circling each other? They provide balance for the world and are sacred to our people."

She smiled, closing her eyes. "I'm really glad you decided with Static to make that team, Slobo. I think, without really knowing, a part of me was really missing being a part of something bigger that acted like a family."

[top_teen_38]

Slobo sat next to her, mimicking her form.

"Well, that's the point o' any team, ain't it, Aqualass? Ta help eachother when one don't know what ta do..." He stared at the scenery. It was so beautiful.

"Yanno how he cares about ya, right?" There was a light frown to his expression.

[kaya_waterwave]

"And that is a good thing," Katara finally said. "There are a lot of times where I don't know what to do. The Yeerk was one of them. I was faced with an idea of an alien slug going around hurting people I cared about on the ship, when I should have gone around and got the facts about what it was that had been going on. It was the same with Lex. I'm hoping with this team, I can feel like I'm finally doing the right thing. It can be pretty lonely to take a stance on something that isn't too popular with everyone else

[top_teen_38]

"Hey, I ain't judgin'. I jus' wanted ta know if you knew." He thought about how off-put Virgil had been about the incident at the bar.

"He seems a little sensitive about things like that, and I jus' wanted ta make sure ya weren't gonna mess with him too bad." His expression became a bit of a grin. "Cause that'd cut in on my territory."

[kaya_waterwave]

"I didn't before honestly, but then I was talking to Rose. She might be interested in him, I'm not sure. I'm more worried about her giving him mixed signals, because she can't really show herself too easily to someone either. But I...I don't want to hurt Static if I can help it. I like him."

"I noticed," she said, her voice soft. "He's one of the best guys I've met here, and he's really friendly. But there's only one person in the world I want to be with, and we're not even close to finding him yet."

[top_teen_38]

"He on ship?" Slobo asked straightly. "'Cause if he is, I can prolly help in findin' him." Slobo tapped his nose.

"Supersenses. I can track people by scent. Done it across galaxies before, findin' my way through here would be easier." He said proudly. "And if ya want the help, we are teammates, after all."

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara smiled. "You can? Really? Oh, that's great! Thank you!" She couldn't help herself and gave him a hug. "Sorry, its just...I haven't seen him in a long time, and I was happy at first that he wasn't here. It made me hope that when he got here, I could show him everything I learned, and all of the people I've met."

But her face darkened here. "Then I found out that he'd been here before I even was, and I know I know that he's one of the last defenses Stacy has against a negative entity on this ship. I know that they tortured him, pushed him so much that he finally struck out at them, and they erased his memory. And I know he was waiting for me to be released, that I'm one of the few memories he never forgot that kept him going."

[top_teen_38]

"Riiiight..." Stepping into that dangerously emotional territory Slobo likes to avoid. "So yeah, I got no problem helpin' ya find him. Yanno, inbetween trainin' and stuff."

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara laughed. She thought it was pretty typical of Slobo to not like too much of the touchy feelyness that she exhibited. As for Aang...well, she was fine not going into detail about that too.

"When will be our first day of training?'

[top_teen_38]

"Soon, I'm thinkin' the first exercise'll be after the funeral, give me and Shocky time ta fix up the place and plan it out. And everyone a chance ta rest." Slobo knew this was important.

"It's gonna be light, I think, a chance for everyone ta get used ta workin' with people they ain't used ta."

[kaya_waterwave]

"The funeral, yeah," Katara echoed. She had thought about going to see b5's body, but thought that might not be appropriate. She hadn't gotten to know him, after all, and the people who had should be the ones who saw him personally. It would be infringing if she'd done otherwise.

"That sounds about right," she said. "I can always do my own training here in the meantime anyway. So, has anyone else gotten interested in the Outsiders?"

[top_teen_38]

"A few folks. We may have ta start splittin' teams to keep trainin' easy ta handle." Slobo grinned. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but it's really nice. Havin' a family. Almost wants ta make me play nicey-nice with Wonder Girl."

[kaya_waterwave]

"That's good! I've been trying to get Zuko and Toph interested in joining too. I'm sure Zuko will once he finds out that Mai is there, and I'm pretty sure that Toph is dying to knock some heads around."

Katara grinned. "Well, that's why I like teams, to be honest. In my world, Toph, Zuko, Aang, Sokka and I all got to be really close because of all of the things we did together. Some of us... missed having a family that actually were around."

[top_teen_38]

"I never had that 'till Young Justice. As me or Lobo. We were always alone." He shifted uncomfortably, looking away from Katara. "It doesn't help that Lobo wiped out his... my whole race an' spent his entire existence screwin' over people..." There was a sorrowful tone to his voice, a desire to say something unspoken, but would never be.

"It's just... Maybe it's part o' my defect, but I like havin' a group I'm around..." There was no other word for his tone now but honestly sad. As if caring for others was a weakness, or something to be ashamed of.

[kaya_waterwave]

Wow. HARSH. Katara didn;t quite know what to say to that.

"I've heard the name Lobo before, but I never got to know more. What is Lobo to you? If he's supposed to be your parent he sounds like a pretty bad one. I think I can guess you are a little like him, but you're somehow trying to get away from that."

Katara noticed there was something unsaid, but that was okay. Slobo would tell her if he ever felt like it. She wouldn't push.

"It's not a defect," Katara said, looking startled. "And maybe that's why Lobo is the way he is, because he's so determined to only do things for himself. You're not like that, and that's a really good thing. If we're left by ourselves all the time, we'd probably lose perspective about people, and look at them like objects to be overcome. I've seen someone like that."

Like a certain firebender.