endgames | 006 -- [Action || Voice]

Entry tags:

006 -- [Action || Voice]

[It is a rare thing to catch Shikamaru out of bed before noon, much less wandering around the western side of Luceti's forest when it's so freaking cold out.

Then again, it's not every day that he's been told that there's a possibility the village might find itself resembling some kid's aquarium If Things Do Not Go As Planned ~~even if we ooc-ly know they will, more or less~~. Despite being told like everyone else that there's nothing anyone can do to prevent it if something goes wrong, waiting for the inevitable just feels like a death sentence. There's being lazy, and then there's being stupid.

Feel free to bump into him if you're out that way yourself. When he's finished, he'll head back towards town, hands stuffed in his pockets. He throws up a voice post on his way.]

Anyone here good at digging holes? [That came out a bit sarcastically - it's early. Okay, but seriously:] Or better yet, skills for manipulating the earth.

[Once that's done, Shikamaru takes some time to track down his fellow ninja before heading of towards the Avatar House.

And then, a filtered message that was here the whole time.]

[Filtered to Trafalgar Law || 100% Unhackable]

I'd like to talk to you about some things, if you're up for it.

[From what he gleaned of your conversation with Catherine, you have a better understanding of the way tsunamis work. Understandable, for a pirate. And while he can come to his own conclusions, it's not a substitute for someone who knows what they're talking about.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[On this fine Sunday afternoon when her friends are being picked up to go to places Unknown to fight fiends Unnumbered, Katara is... just now waking up. She was never much of a morning person and had hardly slept the night before. She's in the kitchen now, mechanically making breakfast because she knows she needs to eat, Sanji and Ginko would be so disappointed if she didn't eat...]

[He'll feel bad for interrupting your breakfast. But as it is - knock, knock at the door.]

[It is a delicious breakfast of cereal. She is busy pouring the milk in the bowl, so she just shouts out:] Come in!

[After all, they've more friends than enemies here and if it's someone who wants to hurt her she'll deal with it just as well from the kitchen as she would by opening the front door.]

[It could be someone in a henge - okay, he has to shut that part of his brain off for now. Which is easy enough to do all of a sudden, as his feet find their way towards the kitchen too easily for his tastes.

At least she could see who it is the second the front door is opened. He gives a lazy salute as he crosses the open space, stopping by a counter.] Yo.

Edited 2010-12-12 23:48 (UTC)

[And even if it was someone in a henge, how would she know until they attacked her?

...wait, we're arguing in parenthesis. Yes. So, Katara sees that it's Shikamaru and her immediate response is to smile, even though she feels like she owes him a good solid punch for that note stunt.] Hey, Shikamaru. It's good to see you looking like yourself again.

[The smile is genuine, but very, very brief. When it fades, though, it fades into a sort of attentive awareness. She was not expecting a visit from you. The way you'd disappeared, she'd sort of anticipated having to hunt you down.]

[And probably would have, if things hadn't come up.] Heh. You too. [He has way too many memories of associating three different people with your name.]

Sorry it's not a social call. You busy? I can come back later.

Ah... right. [Yeah, that was weird. All right, moving on.]

I'm just making breakfast. [Is this late for her to be eating? Yes. He may pick up on this since he was here for some time... if he's observing closely, he may also notice she's got the tell-tale signs of a hard night in those vaguely shaded eyes and slower-than-normal movements.] You can come in and sit down. Did you eat already?

[It takes a second to process those details. The beat after that can be chalked up to hesitance.

He takes a seat - the one by the window was where he sat when he was here - on the end, grabbing the first chair available instead of going further.] Chouji shared some chips with me.

[He'll wait until she's finished eating.]

Edited 2010-12-13 01:07 (UTC)

That's not enough. [The response is natural and would come whether you were eight or eighty. She sets her cereal down across from him and then goes back to the counter bringing the cereal, milk, and an extra bowl and spoon with her, which she sets down in a not-too-subtle hint right in front of him. And then she takes a seat.]

So what's up?

[They can talk and eat at the same time.]

[He rolls his eyes, biting back a 'yes, mother'. That one always seemed to annoy Ino good. But he won't deny the food, since she's already made it.]

I'll tell you when I finish eating. By the time I explained it, the cereal would be soggy. [Which is gross, and may have in fact been one of the things he complained about as a child. This gives her time to eat too. He raises the spoon to his mouth before remembering his manners.] Thanks for the hospitality.

[She rolls her eyes in return and starts digging in to her own cereal. Picky eater.] You're welcome.

[Since you're not just talking about the cereal, are you?

...how to bring up that the note was a very, very bad idea and that she might end up making him eat it in the not-so-far future? ...perhaps she will wait until after she's had more cereal. Om nom nom.]

[He eats quickly but neatly, as much from hunger as from habits developed on missions.

When he's finished, he rises to take his dish to the sink. And may possibly go as far as to rinse it in some water if she hasn't finished eating yet.]

[She's not much longer, but then she's not completely and totally awake yet. She does wake further as she eats, and a certain tension settles in her shoulders. It's a familiar one - she's used to having loved ones go off to fight. But at least they can fight.

"Poor planning" her ass.

Abruptly not hungry, she pushes her bowl of mostly-eaten cereal away and glances up at him.]

So did you need me for something? Everyone's okay, right?

Who? The knuckleheads? They're fine. I just had some questions to ask. [He sets the bowl down to dry, then folds his arms.] About waterbending.

[Knuckleheads? Pfff. Amusement lightens her features for a moment and she scoots her chair back to regard him more fully.]

Sure, go for it.

[Part of her wonders why he's come here to ask questions about her bending now - and may have a niggling suspicion (tsunami) as to why, but she's far more willing to wait and see what the questions are before making any conclusions.]

[Her suspicions are correct, of course.] How much water can you bend with the power limit here?

[He's not expecting she can hold back a tsunami or anything, but it's something that had to be asked. Water-based threats? The first person to obviously see would be the waterbender.]

That depends on how long I have to do it. It's a lot like weight-lifting - the more I bend, the more I can bend, but there will eventually be a limit. [She hasn't reached it yet.] When I was let out to fight a few months ago, I could bend a whole decent-sized river for a while.

[When I had to take down Chopper, and her face flickers with displeased memory.

And a river is a live thing - live and set in its ways. It was hard to redirect.]

So about half that, now. But holding all that? Not for longer than a few minutes.

[He nods, then walks back to the table and sits down. That idea's out then. He wasn't expecting much to come from it, at least.]

How badly does distance effect that? Or having to bend it through something, instead of just pure water.

The closer it is, the easier it is. But I don't know what you mean - bending through something?

With something else in your way, like earth. You didn't seem to have much trouble bending it off my clothes when we sparred, but I know that's not the same thing. [It's messier, for one. He's not sure what kind of effect that would have on it.]

Oh. [And she shakes her head.] No, that doesn't matter. If I can feel it, I can bend it. I've bent water up underneath the ground before, and that was over a year ago.

[He closes his eyes, thinking. Below the table, his fingers come together loosely, forming a circle. He's long since outgrown the need for a 'thinking position', as Asuma called it, but old habits die hard.

She could possible disperse the weight of the water then. Draw it away from them. That would buy time, and aside from that, she could even freeze it; use ice to stabilize it... maybe. All theory right now.]

Ever tried it below ground?

From below to above? No, but if I can feel it then it won't make a difference.

[She pauses and tilts her head, considering him.] I'll be able to tell you what I can and can't do better if you let me know what you're thinking.

Fair enough. [He opens his eyes.]

I'm thinking about how difficult it would be to keep a hole made deep underground from collapsing under tremendous water pressure. And just water-proof in general.

[...] And if it could be done, I was wondering if you could help with that.

That much water? ...you'd probably be better off asking Toph how much pressure it could take. But if I was below it, the best thing I could do would be to freeze it in the ground. That would probably hold it together even further.

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]

[ action ]