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

[found_myway]

The last time he was here, Zuko really hadn't had a chance to enjoy the environment. He had been too busy trying to pummel Katara into unconsciousness and steal her best friend.

So he steps in, feeling a little self-conscious as he recognizes the environment. But he needs a place to meditate, too, so he sits down across from Katara wordlessly and begins breathing, his eyes closed.

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara didn't open her eyes, but she really didn't have to to know if was Zuko. You didn't run away from a guy, and then wind up being friends with him later, without recognizing his presence. At least, martial artists didn't. She was sure it was the same way with him.

And she was happy to have him here too. The last time they were here Zuko was a different person, but now he was calmly sitting here with her, meditating. A slow smile came to her face, and instinctively, her hand found his.

"Hard day for you too huh?"

[found_myway]

He doesn't take her hand, but he doesn't pull it away.

"Ask me that when I don't still feel like I have a country."

KATARA, HE IS IN A MOOOOOOOOD.

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara sighed. She should have known that this would hit Zuko pretty hard. As it was, she was still adjusting, and was in fact the reason that she was here in the first place.

"For all we know, we might be able to get it back. Nothing's final yet. Besides, we still have to find Aang, right?"

[marvelouscarol]

Carol had come to the Sensoriums to get away from the mess that was Stacy. She just wanted to go in, make the place turn into the mansion, go to her room, and sleep. She didn't care who would come in to see her, she didn't care about anything.

But as she entered the Sensorium's she found the the place was beautiful. She didn't even want to step foot on the ground, so she flew around the place, looking at everything. While on her tour she noticed the girl sitting on the ground. Her heart clenched as she watched the girl.

Carol lowered herself to the ground just a bit from Katara.

"Was this place a part of your world?" Carol didn't want to talk about the reveal, or anything really.

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara looked up from her meditation, and was happy to see it was Carol, one of the people she'd met before and who had also visited her when she was still in jail. She was more than welcome in here, and was one of the few people that Katara would pause what she was doing for.

"Hey Carol," she said, her face betraying her pleasure. "Yes, this is the most spiritual place in the Northern Water Tribe. It was said that here the border of the real world and the spirit world intersected. I know Aang once reached the spirit world by meditating in this place. I come here whenever I need pace of mind and reflection."

[marvelouscarol]

Carol never under stood meditation. She remembered seeing Wanda and even Jan doing it back in the Mansion, but she had thought it was a waste of time. But seeing Katara so at peace, maybe she should try it.

"This place is beautiful. I don't think we had anything like this back home. Maybe in the Savage Land, but I wouldn't want to go there to look for it. While fighting dinosaurs can be amusing at first, it get's tiring." And no she's not kidding. She's had to fight her share of dinos in the Savage Lang, not to mention aliens. Carol took a took on the ground, relaxing a bit.

"So, how've you been holding up? I don't think we've had a chance to talk since you were released from jail."

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara gave a small laugh. "Well,in my world, places like these aren't exactly right in front of you. We didn't even know about it until we actually made it to the Northern Water Tribe. In my experience, it pays to go outside of where you know and see something new."

She did look a little startled at the mention of dinosaurs. "Dinosaurs? You mean like the species Red Snout is? What are they in your world?"

At the last query, Katara sighed. "Well, I thought a friend of mine was killed, a team member named Paco lost his arm, I made everyone angry because I didn't immediately try to hate this guy named Lex Luthor, someone WAS killed, I found out my world is gone and now I've joined a team called The Outsiders. It's been pretty busy, LOTS to meditate about."

[metalbent]

Toph had been wandering what parts of the ship she could get into, ready for some time away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the passengers.

And she walked right smack into a place that looked foreign, but still a lot like home. She recognized the shapes of Water Tribe architecture, could feel the flowing to-and-fro of the water, and most importantly, could see that Katara was there.

So she sat down beside her friend.

"Hey."

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara stirred a little and opened her eyes. Of course she knew that voice: she was one of the reasons she hadn't decided to curl up into a ball for a few more days. How was she to know that Toph would appear when she was out on a mission?

"Heya Toph!" Katara said, smiling. "I missed you while I was on this ship. There are a lot of girls here I can talk to know, but none of them are quite lik you. I really shouldn't complain, when I got here there were a few people from our world, its just..."

She was rambling and she knew it, but Toph had always been one of the first girls that she'd ever really called a friend and hse had missed her terribly.

[metalbent]

"Nah." Toph made an its-nothing gesture, then leaned over and socked Katara in the shoulder (hopefully) gently.

"So... who else is here?"

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara said "ouch!" but she wasn;t really hurting. She knew this was Toph;s version of affection, and she actually appreciated it.

"Zuko, Mai and Sokka are all here," Katara said. "And I'm sure you might have heard that somewhere on this ship, Aang is here. So that's going to be one of my missions as well as trying to help the people on the ship. It's...been something I've been concentrating on for a little while."

[forced_unlife]

"Milady Katara?" Khel asked, walking slowly towards her. He had been busy, practicing to make his voice less disturbing. It still sounded like it was hollow, and perhaps slightly echoing, but it was stronger, and no longer sounded like a demonic whisper. He raised one gauntleted hand in a peaceful gesture for her, letting Katara know that he meant no harm.

"I believe I owe thee ... my tale," he said, speaking of the promise from when they first met. He kept his word always, and Katara had treated him fairly decently. He only regretted that these people had to see him as he was, to see his shame. He wished he could be the man he used to be.

"I would tell it to thee, if thou wish, and then, might I ask a favor of thee?"

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara looked up and smiled. She remembered Khel: she'd had a conversation with him before she'd been placed in jail, and remembered he was something of a gentleman. She liked him well enough, and hadn't minded that her meditation had been interrupted yet again.

When he said he would tell her his tale she turned to him, all ears. She had been curious as to why he was just a skull, and wanted to knw what happened with him.

A favor?

"I'll do my best," she said, and smiled at him.

[forced_unlife]

Khel nodded in reply, sitting down on what seemed to be nothing at all. Were he alive, he would have sighed at bringing up the past once more. He was not alive, however, and more he believed that people should understand what he was so they could trust him. Glancing up at the simulated sky, Khel told Katara everything of his past.

"And now the story is known to thee."

[kaya_waterwave]

Katara listened intently, having no idea of all that had happened to Khel, and not being prepared to hear the misery wrought to him by fate and circumstance. By the end of the story, without realizing it, there were tears streaming down her face. To think that he had been suffering all those years, betrayed by the person he loved and losing everything that he had worked and cared for. It was too much to bear.

Yet at the same time, she also knew that all of their worlds were destroyed now, all that they knew fallen to dust. It didn't equal to the pain that Khel had been through, all the years he'd faced all of this alone.

But he would not be alone any longer, would he?

"It's horrible, that your happiness was ruined by someone who should have cared for you. And to be alone all of those years. It's...its..."

She sobbed quietly.