Loose in Badgerland

[runner_fray]

After leaving the other kids in the strange city, Melaka ends up wandering the park, alternating between panic and anger.

Occasionally badgers try to make something tasty out of her. She starts treating this as a minor annoyance, pushing entire blocks masonry aside ad occasionally yelling out:

"HARTH!"

Comments

[dark_ex_watcher]

Fortunately for Mel, she now has a Head Boy.

Who is even now leaping in terror from the bush he was hiding behind, because there are badgers about. Even if he hasn't seen one yet, he knows they are out there somewhere.

Academy training, you know.

The shriek, however, is entirely his own.

[runner_fray]

Mel's seen more than a few. She's even got a large blood stain on her pantsleg now, and what she had to do to deserve that is part of the reason her eyes are wet.

At the shriek she spins around. It sounded a bit like a small thirteen year old's, although Harth's shrieks are usually more manly. Whatvere it is, it sounds like someone's in trouble.

"You OK?"

[dark_ex_watcher]

Wesley has much too good a flail going on to notice Mel's question at first, but it eventually sinks in that he's losing it right in front of what appears to be a perfectly normal person.

At which point, the Academy's Head Boy abruptly straightens himself and puts on his very best air of calm, cool, collectedness.

"Why, yes!" he squeaks.

*ahem*

"Why wouldn't I be?"

As performances go, it might be somewhat less than convincing.

[runner_fray]

Mel doesn't answer the question with words. She answers them with a quick look.

Then, "you seen a scrawny looking kid around here? Black hair, glasses?"

[notanoptimist]

"KATARA!"

There is a boy, with a boomerang and a club and a knife in his belt and a whole lot of leather. Not in the badass black sort, but the soft fuzzy blue kind.

And as he climbs over and under rubble, he's trying to decide if he's going to grab his little sister in relief when he finds her, or shake the very life out of her with frustration that she went somewhere without him.

But hey, yelling person! Older yelling person with nifty hair! And no red clothing!

Sokka hesitates for a moment, frowning heavily and squinting at her. Mel won't know it, but it's the blue eyes that finally get him to beam and race to her. "Hey! Hey!"

[runner_fray]

Her shirt's even blue! Her pants, though are a khaki colour, more Earth Kingdom than anything else.

And she fixes him sharply with those big blue eyes, distressed and frustrated so much there's no room for anger.

"You seen him?"

[notanoptimist]

"Have you seen my sister?"

It's breathless and demanding and excited because she doesn't look like a dangerous person, really. Weird, but not scary.

Oh wait, she has a question, too.

"Um... no, I don't think so." Sokka frowns, suspicious for a moment, and then writes it off with a shrug. "Not 'less he's a stinky Fire Nation guy."

[runner_fray]

Crap.

Mel shifts from foot to foot, unhappy with this.

"My age. Black hair, glasses. Not seen anyone might be your sister, either. What she look like?"