witchesreign | 1st straw. [action, open all the way.]

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1st straw. [action, open all the way.]

[ He's new still, but you may have seen him. He did have a punishment round on his very second day, after all. Though Jet laid out of the first few days of his classes, citing his concussion as his excuse, he's attended at least a few of them, and he just has one of those faces. Very tanned and boy-next-door, not unpleasant and not one-in-a-million. You may have seen him. ]

[ And you may see him now, as he's scouring the girls' dormitory looking at the name placards beside each door, laboriously trying to read the "sounds" written there. He's not yet to the second floor but is making his way toward the stairwell, deep in concentration.

It doesn't for a moment occur to him that only girls are supposed to be in the girls' dorms. ]

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[And that makes her stop dead in her tracks. Katara whips around to face him, her eyes wide as her mouth drops open as if she has something to say: but no sound comes out. There's a few more seconds of this odd gaping before she averts her gaze, arms crossing and expression falling.]

You shouldn't say things like that, Jet.

Edited 2010-06-26 03:42 (UTC)

...

[ He isn't sure what prompted that reaction, but there's no chance in hell he's gonna forget it. For now, he tucks it away for later analysis. ]

Katara...I was kidding. [ He tilts his head and holds his arms askew, in a way that could be apologetic or the prelude to a comforting hug, depending on her reaction. ]
I'm sorry.

[Her eyes shift upwards at his words, and she takes in the sight of his apologetic stance. Rather than to fall into his arms for an embrace, though, the sensitive topic causes Katara to hold back. Instead, she tries to give him a small smile, but it falls flat-- how can she pretend that his words are a joke, when they're real?]

... I know.

[And with that, she suddenly turns around to start walking again, glad that they're nearly at the Quad now.]

[ He'd been nearly certain she'd go for the hug. More perplexed by the situation now, Jet drops his arms and follows silently until they're near a bench. ]

[Thankfully the Quad is empty for the most part-- it seems like the students have taken to retreating to their dorms or the library to study for midterms. When they approach an empty bench, Katara sits herself down before shifting slightly to face Jet.]

So, what did you want to talk about?

About something he said.

[ It's obvious from Jet's tone and the set of his brows just who he's talking about. ]

You bumped into him again? You guys didn't fight, did you?

[Not that she's one to lecture.]

C'mon, Katara, I told you in Ba Sing Se that I've changed.

[ He doesn't know what associations she has with that particular phrase now. ]

Even though he threw the soap at me, I behaved! But he said something, and I just can't believe it. I figured you might know if he was lying.

[His mentioning of Ba Sing Se strikes something within her again, though this time she manages to suppress any sort of reaction other than a slight tensing of her shoulders. When something about 'soap' is mentioned though, Katara glances over at Jet with a perked brow, a bit confused-- did the two of them argue in the showers?

Instead of inquiring about it, though, Katara gives a slow nod, curious as to what exactly Zuko has brought up in his conversation with Jet.]

What did he say?

He said that he was banished.

[Her brows furrow, and there's a small frown.]

He was banished. But, after Ba Sing Se, he returned to the Fire Nation.

Edited 2010-06-28 16:46 (UTC)

...So, in other words, he did it so he could go home.

[ Jet's stomach feels like an earthbender filled it top-full with lead. Even though he recognizes that it's still inherently selfish, sacrificing others' welfare for one's own like the firebender had done, it's hard to ignore the voice inside that's saying What wouldn't you sacrifice to have your world put right again? ]

[she gives a slow nod.]

He'd been searching for the Avatar, ever since he was banished so that he would be welcomed back to the Fire Nation. After the fight in Ba Sing Se we barely managed to escape, but they thought...

[Katara pauses as she remembers so vividly what had happened: Aang, shifting into his Avatar state, then Azula with that bolt of lightning-- Katara swore that her heart almost stopped.]

They thought they finished Aang, and I guess he was welcomed back as a hero.

Edited 2010-06-28 17:14 (UTC)

[ Jet's eyes slam shut. He doesn't want to think that anyone, anywhere in his world, would call that boy a hero. ]

He told me something else. He told me about his face.

[Her eyes widen; she has a hunch as to what Jet is referring to and she feels her stomach drop. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, there's a mixture of both embarrassment and a touch of guilt at the idea of Jet knowing what had happened down in the Crystal catacombs.]

... What about it?

[ He paces in circles a few times, arms akimbo, as though alert and searching for something to hit. When he stills, finally, the tension hasn't gone anywhere. ]

He told me that his father did it.

[Katara nearly breathes a sigh of relief-- so it wasn't about her offer to heal the scar. But her eyes widen at his words, clearly shocked by this piece of information-- could it be true?]

What? Well... I'm not sure about that. He never told me how he got the scar.

He didn't lie about the banishment...Why would he lie about where his scar came from...

[ Jet tilts his head, like a dog listening to far away howling that human ears can't hear. ]

He must have lied, though. He told me he was chasing the Avatar so he could go home, so he could get his father's approval. There's no way any sane person whose father had done that to their face would still be trying to please the old bastard.

I don't know... the Fire Nation is ruthless.

[After all, they had both suffered by the power-hungry nation.]

[ He agrees there. ]

If anyone could do that to their kid, it'd be the Fire Lord, definitely.

[ His sigh is more of a growl, the sound so frustrated it might as well have been from an animal caught in a platypusbear trap.]

But if he's telling the truth, what the hell was he thinking? Betraying the person who wants to heal his scar for the favor of the person who gave it to him?

[There's a brief flicker of surprise -- so Zuko had told him. Katara then crosses her arms, a sour expression on her face.]

I don't know, but it was a mistake-- I shouldn't have trusted him.

You give people second chances, Katara. It's what you do.

[ Giving up on doing violence to something, for the time being, Jet finally throws himself down on the ground, sitting with elbows on knees. ]

Leave being suspicious of everyone to me, all right?

[There's a small laugh and a nod at this words. When she regains her composure, Katara looks down at Jet with an almost uneasy expression.]

I know it took me a while to give you a second chance, Jet... and I'm sorry for that.

Don't apologize. I didn't give you a lot of reasons to trust me back in the valley, but I was glad when you changed your mind.

[ He sighs and drops his head between his shoulders. ]

When we get back home, I'll join you guys, if you'll have me. I know I'll be strong enough to help after what we learn here.

I--

[What can she even say to that? Katara isn't sure. She takes back whatever words had almost slipped out, and almost in an act of defense she shifts her body away, arms crossed protectively over her chest. She can't even maintain eye contact with him.]

... Maybe. We have to find out if we can even return home.

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