Zompania Draft: Coming Home

[frost_jewel]

Who: Anyone drafted to Zompania, or recruited as reinforcements, or left behind in the village. SO. Everybody!
What: The draftees and reinforcements return to the village.
When: May 26, early early in the morning
Where: Back in Luceti
Summary: Most draftees and reinforcements return to Luceti in the very early hours; now, instead of a medevac site for the draft, the village is a welcome (?) refuge from the nightmare of Zompania for its own. There's a high likelihood it still looks a lot like it has in the past few days; those in the fight didn't even get a chance to shower before returning.

(This is the place for all your post-draft trauma and reunions and every other thing. Have fun! And don't forget to entry-tag your character.)

Comments

{Open}

[strikeoflightning]

The fight had worn her down and she was glad to drop her armor. As she did so, she made a post on the network, revealing that she had indeed been injured. Her enemy had been lucky. If her attention had been focused on him - rather than the two others who chose to attack her at the same moment - she would have evaded the blow.

After rewrapping her wound as best as she could, Lightning surveyed the people around her. What she saw made her lips press into a thin line. The great majority of those who had fought weren't necessarily warriors; that accounted for the number of injuries she saw before her. However that alone wasn't what irked her.

Why had the draft happened in the first place? Why were reinforcements needed? And why were so many people injured and killed?

Was this a game for those who brought them into the village to begin with? Or - and this was a far worse thought - had those who brought them into the village lost control?

Her hand curled into a fist and she lifted her chin. She had fought Chaos before. But this was different. Etro had grounded her and given her a clear focus. She didn't have that anymore and she sorely missed it.

At least Serah isn't apart of this anymore. That was the only soothing thought she could muster.

Bending down, she picked up her armor with care and strode to the nearest building.

Zuko [Open]

[lordhotman]

[He couldn't remember ever being so tired in his entire life. This battle was beyond anything he had experienced before, and his thoughts were still haunted by the terrible sights he'd seen and the screams he'd heard.

In the end, he only came out with mostly minor injuries. Some cuts and bruises still remain, but the mental wounds were far greater than the physical ones.

He looks absolutely terrible as they finally make it back to Luceti. His clothes are stained in blood and grime. On top of that he hasn't bathed in days, so he smells awful too. The dark circle under his good eye makes it clear he's slept very little, but at least they gave them some food before dropping them off.

Zuko resembles the walking dead. Wanting nothing more than a shower, clean clothes, and to sleep forever.]

All the threads, all the time. :D

[tea_lover64]

[Iroh walks with Zuko as they head back to the house. To say it had been a difficult draft would be an understatement. Physically he had come out of it alright, some injuries, but nothing that a few days of rest wouldn't see mostly mended. Seeing Lu Ten die again, and this time by his own hand was something which was etched in his mind now. Part of him didn't want to sleep again, for he knew that image would be there.

He doesn't say anything as they move on together. At the very least, they had made it. For now, that would have to be enough]

( Open )

[padme_amidala]

Her heart was in her throat. She had noticed the absence of Luke, Obi-Wan and Anakin, which had left her in a house by herself. News of what was happening was fleeting at best and she ended up dressing herself for conflict, fully equipped with some of the weapons Luke had acquired during his stay in the village.

She all but ran to the site where the injured recruits and reinforcements were arriving. Most of the color had left her face, but she had adopted the controlled visage of a Queen and Senator. Panicking would help no one and she had to help her son, her husband and her friend if she could.

[thefinaljedi]

Luke stepped out of the tunnels, a slump in his shoulders plain for anyone to see. He was dirty, exhausted, bruised, and covered in minor cuts and scratches...but ostensibly okay. However, as he noticed his mother his expression darkened, a grim look taking root on his face.

He didn't want to say it, but he'd come home alone.

"Mother..." he said when he reached her. "I'm sorry."

(open)

[searches_forhim]

Jane had been a nervous wreck since the minute the announcement of the draft had come out, and Thor had gone off to battle. As she'd sat in her apartment she'd had flashbacks of the first time he'd left her, and the two years she's spent after wondering if she'd ever see him again. She couldn't help but feel like history was repeating itself.

When the wounded had started to arrive, Jane had volunteered to help - not just because she was needed, but because it gave her a chance to check those returning for people that she knew. Person after person came back, but not Thor. She looked for Loki too, hoping that if he came back it would mean Thor couldn't be far behind, but there was no sign of him either. So she waited in the center of town, doing her best to stay calm despite the maelstrom of fear and anxiety raging inside her.

[neversurrender]

Steve doesn't remember much about the trip back to Luceti. After six days of doing nothing but fighting with no sleep, he spent most of the trip out cold, hoping that once they arrived he would look somewhat rested and avoid being lectured by Peggy.

He had just gotten back into the village and was heading home when he spotted Jane through the crowd of people. It seemed like everyone has out to welcome back the returning villagers and help with the wounded. There were a lot of wounded. A lot of dead as well.

His grip on Thor's hammer tightened as he made his way through the crowd toward her. He had never gotten to know Jane very well, even during the times she'd been in the village before. He's sure there must be someone else out there that would do a better job of this. Be a more comforting presence. But Thor had been his teammate, his friend, and he had seen him die. When he had given Steve his hammer, he had passed this responsibility onto him as well.

"Jane."

He knew she would understand once she saw his hammer, but he didn't try to bring it to her attention. But he didn't try to hide it either.

[justdid]

The first thing Wan does upon returning home is sleep. Literally.

He will gracelessly flop down on the ground and fall asleep wherever he is dropped off once he realizes that the nightmare is over and he's back in luceti. He could care less that he was sleeping on the ground instead of an actual bed. Or that he should clean off the pungent layer of blood and grime that he accumulated over the draft. Or even that the sudden crash landing on his wings actually kind of hurt.

Wan is going to stay asleep provided someone doesn't wake him up or trip over his body.

[lostinmyway]

[When Grune sees a young man arrive and promptly topple over, she leaves her baked goods stand right away to go check on him.]

Oh, my. Are you all right?

[He must be very tired indeed.]

[Open]

[tearmeanewone]

[It's almost a relief when Elizabeth comes back into the barrier surrounding Luceti. Immediately, everything is muted. She can't see tears wherever she looks, the overwhelming amount of images ceases. It's lonely, in a way, but it's also welcome given how tired she is and how out of control her power became towards the end.]

[She steps off of the ship in a daze, the quiet, calm air of Luceti seeming eerie and unsettling. For a few moments, she stands there and stares, unsure of what she should do now.]

[Going home and showering should be on the list--she's covered in blood and grime. Then maybe evening out the haphazard haircut she gave herself.]

[voidseeing]

[Gai isn't far behind her, though he has to lean on the wall of the ship for support while he musters up the energy to step away from it. Even just staying upright is proving to be far more challenging than he'd expected, his legs threatening to buckle beneath him with every step he takes.

Right now he's just praying that he can make it back home before he collapses to avoid a repeat of what happened after the mission. But this is far worse-- he's far more exhausted than he was then, and after a few teetering steps he's starting to realize that he's in trouble.]

[Open]

[whiskytraitorfirefight]

[As long as she could continue to smile, things would be okay.

Ginia steps off the ship and back into the village, every limb feeling sore and heavy. Her expression is a blank mask as she looks around the village, swaying slightly as people move past her. Nothing has changed. It may be a medical evac zone, but the village is still fundamentally the same.

It's not a war-torn city, buildings empty husks, all inhabitants sacrificed. It's a living village, a living enclosure.

Ginia's feet drag as she hauls herself forward. Priorities. Going to her apartment and taking a long shower. Salvaging what she can of her grime-and-blood covered clothes. Cleaning her weapons. Attempting to sleep. Priorities.]

[lostinmyway]

[Grune has been welcoming everyone back without discrimination, offering cake and hugs to those who need them. But when she sees a special friend arriving--she can't let her pass by.]

Ginia! Welcome home.

[Open]

[swordprincess]

[The fighting is finally over, and Karla could actually think and feel again. This is when the pain and fatigue catch up to her, big time. She walks with slow, uneven steps across the village, eager to catch up on the sleep that she's missed in the past few days. She had fought on even with her exhaustion. If she could just make it back to her room, she could sleep for a whole week.]

[And the smell. The draft had gotten her absolutely filthy, and she's just as eager for a hot shower. Her white gown is stained almost black with ashes, grime, and blood, and her long hair is tangled and frizzy. She almost hates the idea of sleeping like this, but there's no way she could stay awake long enough to clean up.]

[She shuffles like a zombie, hoping that her will would get her to her room. However, her human body has had it. Her vision is blurred and unfocused. Every sound is a dull thud in her ears. Exhaustion takes hold, and she passes out, tipping over to the ground with a thud.]

[knightofratatosk]

[Emil has barely spent much time at home over the past several days. With all of the wounded flooding in, there has been a constant need for aid and supplies, and though Emil is no healer, his pact with Nala was enough for him to be able to make himself useful in that regard. And then of course there were bandages to change, people who needed to be fed, and a myriad of other tasks that someone needed to take care of.

It's on yet another trip to the store for much-needed supplies that he spots the woman in the plaza, looking to be on the verge of collapse. Immediately he changes course to head over in her direction, about to call out to her...

... and then she collapses and he speeds up, racing to her side to drop to his knees beside her.]

H-hey, are you all right? Are you hurt?

[There's blood on her clothes, but he can't tell if it's hers or not.]

[open]

[forelocked]

Well he wasn't dead. That was good. He knew he'd had it easier than many people, having been a volunteer and not drafted, but that didn't mean he had enjoyed himself. He hated organized fighting, and he'd rather think than fight in the first place. He was thinking now, about everything he'd experienced since coming to Luceti. There was a lot going on, and he had the sense there was a lot he didn't know, but what was he supposed to do about it?

Also, he was starving.

Being filthy wasn't his favorite state, but he could deal with it a little while longer. His first priority was obtaining food. He was famished. To spare any other people who might be eating in the restaurants, he headed for the store instead.

Moving through the streets, he was limping slightly. One he arrived at his destination, he was planning on eating his food right there in the store. Why wait?

[[ooc: brackets and prose are both fine.]]

[soheartless]

[A boy stands in the shadow of a tree, watching as everyone files out into the village as they return.

He had been at the village the whole week, and for the most part he had been helping out with whatever task was asked of him. But that didn't stop the aching feeling of loneliness or the pain that he felt in his veins. It wasn't stopping the crow within him from hungering.

He won't directly approach people; he simply looks out from where he stands.]

[lostinmyway]

Mytho!

[Grune calls out to her friend from the baked goods stand she's set up near where the fighters have been returning. He looks so lonely--maybe some cake will cheer him up.]

Open

[tsunsandsteals]

[He managed to survive. His first draft, no fighting experience outside Pokemon battles and he's alive. So he can't help being pretty proud of himself, even as he keeps touching his injured arm...the healers kept it from getting too serious but it still aches and he's going to have a scar. At least it wasn't his good arm.

Still, this isn't something he'd like to do again. It's time to find a combat mentor...honestly, he's not sure about anyone other than Kratos. They're not the best friends ever, but he feels like he could trust him. Asking strangers for help feels kinda wimpy and what if they laugh at him?

Still, it has to be done, right? If he gets pulled into another draft he needs more than just his Pokemon and quick reflexes to get him through. Next time he might not be lucky enough to get away with an injured arm.]

[mysicksadlife]

[Daria's a lot more relieved than she knows how to show when she sees Silver back, alive, and apparently mostly well. She heads up to him immediately.]

I'm glad you made it. [She doesn't even bother lying about that, or even bother with pretending or sarcasm right now, which is unusual in itself, for her.]

Mostly House One but also anywhere in between!

[distressedude]

[Ion won't be the first one to make it back to House One, his body so tired he can hardly find the strength to move. And if not for some help from his comrades, he probably would have just laid there the moment he returned to the village. Running on maybe a few hours of sleep over the course of the past 7 days, even without any serious wounds, he's not looking too good. His face is pale, his body won't stop shivering, and his hair is choppy and spotted with blood. And truth be told, he's seen so much blood over the course of the week that he hardly realizes just how much has stained his clothes.]

[The physical and emotional distress from the battlefield had taken its toll on Ion. He looks as though he's aged 10 years in less than 10 days. Confronting his previous trauma inflicted on him in past drafts had been bad enough, but this had been an entirely new level of horrible. Dying and coming back to life, the rows of corpses, both innocent and enemy; and the overwhelming stench of blood and decay... even now, he was still trying to hold everything back, afraid of what would happen if he let down the calm mask that just barely holding him together.]

[And the worst of it is that even now, he feels like he can't sleep. Whenever he closes his eyes, he's either back on the battlefield, or hearing the phantom ringing of the emergency alarm on the journal. As much as he knows he needs to sleep, his body just won't let him. And even when he does start drifting off, his dreams just drag him back to that terrible feeling after the bomb went off, and it takes every ounce of self-restraint he has not to wake up screaming.]

[But the worst pain of all is knowing that not everyone will be brought back to the village today. So many people so much stronger than him didn't come back... but why? Was there nothing he could have done? Why did he come back and not them? It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair...]

[But there was nothing that could be done now. For better or for worse, he was back in Luceti again. Now, he just needed time to recover.]

[silversnowfall]

[Nephry stayed in the village for a while, helping people get to the clinic or to home, if they needed it, and dealing with the shock of what she'll find when she goes home herself. She looked for her other housemates, swallowing down the ache when she thought too hard about it, but missed them all.

By the time she does get back, Ion's been there for a while - she doesn't know, though - and she starts searching the house for everyone but Jade. Starting with the kitchen.]

[ Open ]

[universal_charm]

To say he was tired was an understatement. It might have won understatement of the year if he had actually spoken it aloud. As it was, he probably showed it. Mud and blood coated him, because indeed a shower had not been something quite possible in the past several days. Every part of him ached, his body and mind numb. He sported no small amount of bandages around arms, his thigh, and his hands and one on his head. He had done well, all things told, better than some, but he just... didn't have it in him to grateful. Why should he be? If not for the damn Malnosso, none of them would be in this mess, no one would have had to die, especially not all those innocent people...

He had to stop in his walking as he felt a moment of dizziness, brought on by rage he told himself, recalling all those bodies.

Eventually he pushed himself up and kept on walking, and it was hard to decide if he wanted proper sleep or a proper shower more than anything. That food was so far down his list said something, as well as the fact that wanting a stiff drink was so far up...

[spohkh]

[Spock came running as soon as he felt that Jim was close. He had been pacing, wondering when his Captain would return...
The Vulcan gapes as he sees Jim's condition.]

Jim...

[In the end, all it mattered was that he was alive.]

[ahappylie]

[The war was over for them. Nothing had been won, nothing had been gained, but at least the war was over. When they touched down in the village again, Souji found himself wishing he was back on the field instead. Even that disgusting field had been better than the silence he felt pressing in around him, the feel of a week's worth of dirt and blood on his skin, and the oppressive realization that fewer of them were coming back than had gone in the first place.

He looked like a wreck and felt like a wraith as he left the area, trying to make his way home to lock himself away before anyone had a chance to stop him and make him think of one missing person in particular.]

[etherealblast]

[Perhaps unluckily for Souji, Fayt was heading south too, back to the earth building... to an apartment that would be housing only one person for the next week, rather than two.

The thought of it twisted his stomach slightly. He doesn't so much approach Souji as nearly trip over him though, tired as he was. Several cups of coffee later, he still hadn't retained much energy.] Ah.... sorry.

[yourfononsarewhack]

[He was almost reminded of the life he had lived on Erwin's world. The Survey Corps would return from another expedition and proceed with a grim march through the town. It wasn't the look of heroes returning victoriously. It was the look of soldiers whom had failed once again. They sported wounds as their only trophies and the only news they usually brought was in the form of the bodies of the fallen soldiers.

At least, in this case, there was some significant difference. Most of everyone's wounds had been dealt with, and the fight had not entirely been a lost cause. So many people had been saved from a horrible death, even if it was one they would not have encountered if they had been able to stay in the enclosure. And there were no bodies - just the names and memories of those whom had passed on.

Jade Curtiss pressed on intently, from the teleporters towards House 1. He'll stop to those who wish to talk to him, but otherwise he'll go straight ahead to the house. He has to compile his notes on everything he's learned and see if it can be helpful. But first of all, he has some bad news to deliver.]

[silversnowfall]

[Nephry has been lending her hands and penchant for organization to the medevac effort; when she hears the draftees are returning, it doesn't even strike her that it's almost too early in the morning to be morning. She runs straight from the battledome to wherever the returners are most likely to congregate - really, she'll go until she sees a crowd - and stop when she sees the shape they're all in.

She's looking for specific faces, those meant to refill a silent empty house. Jade is the first she spots, the back of him, headed north. Headed home without any accompaniment.]

Jade! [It is three in the morning and no time for being proper as she starts running again, a bit slower this time, toward him.]

[capturespecialist]

[Even after getting her wrist checked out and wrapped up by Law, Crystal's hesitant on returning to the house. The house meant questions, and questions meant explanations. Explanations meant recounting the last three days - yesterday in particular.

Might come back doesn't make her as happy as it should; it's a good idea to have, but watching it happen and knowing it was her fault and that it could - no, it would happen again if she wasn't careful - is really bringing down her mood. So Crystal, with her remaining two pokémon safely sleeping in their balls (because they've deserved it, they really have), makes way for the Welcome Center instead of House 11.

There's beds there - and that's all she needs.]

[mischiefbreeder]

[They let Crys have the night to herself, knowing she needed it. They were all exhausted and had been through a lot, her especially. Gold had taken Silver, whose own fatigue had finally caught up with him, home to bed.

But only that one night. The following morning, once both of them are up, they head to the Welcome Center and immediately barge in there.]

Don't tell me you plan on hidin' out here forever.

[Open]

[lostinmyway]

[Grune has had a very interesting last few days. Having been a volunteer at the medevac sites essentially since the beginning, even if she isn't as exhausted as the fighters, she's pretty tired all the same.

But, in spite of the dark circles beneath her eyes, in spite of the early hour, she still has a bright smile for everyone returning--a bright smile, and also cake. Two cakes, to be precise: with the number of people gone, she had thought it would be better to up the level of baked goods this time around. One is a chocolate cake and the other is a spice cake, as per Thor's request.

She's also more than willing to dispense hugs to each and every person who needs them.]

Re: [Open]

[spohkh]

[Spock can be found pacing... as if waiting for news. His determined gaze is locked on the ground, completely unaware of anything else around him.

Maybe he could use a hug from Grune.]

[magicalesbian]

[When Kari first woke up, she didn't know where she was.]

[Everything had been a blur. She was certain she remembered volunteering for the draft. And then they arrived by jumping down using parachutes... right? Did she fight when she landed? How long were they gone? What did she see there? Where did all of these bandages come from?]

[She couldn't remember. And for now, she was too tired to push it. Her whole body was sore, and she was dizzy from whatever painkillers she had been given to manage the pain. She had a broken arm and an almost uncountable number of cuts ranging from small and insignificant to severe and rather painful. And then there was the incessant ache in her chest, where the bulk of the bandages seemed focused on. Really, she was lucky the stab wound had been so close to her pendent -- the same magic keeping the pendent locked to her chest was able to prevent it from from killing her. Though she was certainly cutting it close this time around...]

[But she couldn't remember how it happened. She didn't even remember her magic wearing off... and when did she get to the clinic? She couldn't remember. And even though it seemed like it was better that she didn't... it terrified her. Without even really understanding why, she spends the rest of that morning crying until she finally falls back asleep.]

[[ooc: This can also be a catch-all for the next few days afterwards where she'll still be staying in the clinic!]]

[frost_jewel]

[A few days after the draftees return, Mia still doesn't have all her wits about her, but it would be senseless to lock herself away with so many injured and in need of help. There are a few she's especially worried about; Kari is one of them, although she doesn't know her beyond the name attached to the room.

When she comes in, this morning, and sees Kari is awake - crying, hardly making a sound about it - she pulls the visitor's chair over quietly and sits down. She takes Kari's nearest hand in hers, gently, saying nothing.]

[pokeboy]

[ It's so odd, the lack of growing bodies and a clear(ish) ground instead.

Red knew he couldn't be completely ready for what he went into, but it didn't make those days any better. They were as much of an emotional rollercoaster as a physical one, the tears and marks on his pokémon's bodies to be much of a reminder of Zompania as to whatever way it would decide to haunt them. They all came out lucky, many times. Were they in over their heads going in the first place?

When Red arrives back in Luceti, Pikachu tucked under an arm to let him rest, he gets his pokémon checked out first by any volunteering medics to make sure they'll be okay. Thankfully, there's nothing too serious, and what they really need (what they all need) is sleep. So afterwards he heads to House 11, doing just that in the living room in one of the chairs. ]

[pendantry]

[Raven is lucky she makes it as far as something recognizable in the village. The limp she sported while boarding the ship resolved into a steady drag instead, one she doesn't have the energy to keep up. Everything hurts, she imagines her hair hurts even though it can't. She knows better than to try to walk all the way home; a memory fragment finds her, the couch in the smithy, a warm-feeling afternoon when she couldn't talk but could find comfort in something.

Half of her face twitches upward in a distant smile, the other half being too bruised and swollen to comply. That was nice, then. It was...good, and maybe it can still be good again.

Despite her determination, Raven only makes it as far as the nearest wooden bench; she sits on it and then lies down on it and it is the fear of losing-consciousness-and-dying that keeps her focused, forcing herself awake through the budding realization that everything might be on fire. She might be, she feels so white-hot and it's hard to keep her eyes open...

Her next solid memory is a brief time awake, in the clinic. That makes up several isolated memories, actually, with long stretches of nightmare-strewn nothing in between.]

[[ooc: Bit of a catch-all for the return day and three or four days after! Raven needs some help getting to the clinic and then she totally needs visitors.]]

[deathsdoctor]

[That first, next solid memory involves a man as Raven awakes. Tall, walking among the wounded and checking on them, dressed in black scrubs.

At this point Law looks... cleaner. Showered (many times), shaved, but still with black rings of exhaustion etched beneath each eye.

Noticing her awake, he approaches.]

You're in the clinic now. You were brought in earlier.

[He had been on shift then, as had others. He had helped get her to a bed.]

[rashness]

[ It's raining when they come back. ... That's sort of fitting, actually. Rin wants, more than anything, to just go home to Shiemi and Skarmy and maybe even hug them both and get some sleep. But he hasn't necessarily seen all of his friends on the day home. He hasn't seen Silver in a day or two, or any of all of his coworkers, or Pilouette, who he still has his promise to look after. Now that he's back, and the air is clean, somehow that just makes everything feel much heavier as his clothes get soaked. He waits at the fountain for them all to pass. He doesn't even necessarily know who all was there.

It's gross. He's compromised himself, but then those bastards deserve it. He was being too soft before, holding out hope for them to come around. He still doesn't want to kill anyone, but.. . .

He can't even keep up those hard thoughts. It's less that the rain washed it away, but that the awareness that he's wet keeps pulling him back to now, and back to waiting. One of the benefits of his heritage is other than being tired and some linger aches, he isn't even injured. But he has to make sure the others are okay - ]

[generalflirt]

[ Hell, he's back.

... What can he even do about it. The images this time will probably stick with him just as long as the one in Vaskoth. Once more, his body count went up. Once more, the body count of people he knew - and people he felt responsible for - went home. Once more, it was nominally a victory, and he holds satisfaction for that which lasts just long enough to know that it probably isn't something he should be embracing. Masaomi's tired and hungry, to be sure, but he wasn't there the whole time, not like some of the other people (who died . . . that's so bizarre) so he's able to make his way-- back to the Flame Building, he decides. Back to his room. He'll pass everyone he sees before then with an expression he makes up just for that encounter. ]

[niceguypose]

[Rock Lee's body is utterly exhausted from all the stress he put it through throughout the draft, especially his repeated usage of the Chakra Gates. So he'll end up confined to his apartment in the Flame Building for a week or so as he recuperates. He'll sneak out to try doing some push-ups or sit-ups occasionally, but he never goes further then the hallway outside the apartment. He is open to visitors, however.

And at least he isn't feeling very bad mentally. He was able to be there for his friends this time and protected a good number of them. Lee will be able to sleep soundly.]

House One!

[lastfonmasterguardian]

[It takes until the end of the draft, but the anger about the bomb being dropped finally passes. Instead, Anise finds herself filled with a mix of sadness and a lack of energy; the last few days had been exhausting, and she'd barely managed any sleep. Between the lack of sleep, and all of the fighting, and the images of all of the bodies she'd seen, and the sensation of dying, it's hard for her to keep her thoughts straight.]

[Her first instinct when she gets back to House One is to head up to her room, but despite how tired she is, she still can't sleep. After tossing and turning for a couple of hours, she gives up, and heads downstairs.]

[For anyone that walks by, she'll try to smile and act like her typical (cute...) self, but it's obvious that it's still bothering her. Until someone comes by, she'll be sitting on the sofa idly, playing with Tokunaga with a rather lackadaisical expression.]

[silversnowfall]

[Nephry didn't get much sleep either; she comes into the living room shortly after Anise, intending to make breakfast for anyone who feels well enough to have some.]

Oh. You're up. [She stops at the arm of the sofa, with a tired smile.] Do you want some breakfast?

[markofthebrave]

[If Katara had been tired just returning from her mallynap, she was... something else entirely, now. She'd done her best to avoid fighting, but hadn't always had that option, and there were far too few people coming home.

'Home.' Ha. Who would have ever thought she'd think of Luceti that way?

Now that she was back, though, there was something else that she had to deal with -- something Aang had told her on the draft -- something she wasn't quite sure was real.

Sokka was back. He was here. He was here and he was from further in their future... and he didn't remember anything of the years they had spent here together. She wasn't entirely able to put names on all of her feelings, but Katara was terrified that she'd have to watch this place break her brother all over again. Maybe it would be different. Maybe he wouldn't stay as long. Maybe...

Part of her selfishly did not want to continue that line of thought at all. Sokka was her brother, she loved him and missed him and trusted him like no one else -- she wanted to see him. But it was a long walk back to House 56, and she was so tired...

She'd just rest by the fountain for a little bit. Then she'd get moving again.]

[Action somewhere between fountain and Avatar House?]

[theideaguy]

[Sokka is generally not the sort of person to be sacrificing sleep for anything. He's a man of simple pleasures, really. Yet after being (not so) rudely awakened by Zuko's return, followed by Iroh's, followed by Aang's, and then being told perhaps the most important news that he could have possibly heard since coming to Luceti, well... it turns out that there actually are a few things that matter to Sokka more than sarcasm, food, and sleep.

Clearly, the Best Brother of the Year Award should go to him for his sacrifice.

Aang had told Sokka that Katara was "right behind him," but Sokka had looked. There was no Katara to be seen. So without so much as a thank you to Aang for letting him know, Sokka had pushed the sleepiness from his hand and scrambled out into the twilight as fast as he could to the drop-off point in town. Of course, he hadn't actually asked where that actually was, but practically the entire village was one direction from Avatar House. And if Sokka had to take a wild guess, it was going to be the town square.

Oddly enough, several recurring questions cycle through his head as he runs onwards, questions he'd been trying to prepare for since discovering of Katara's kidnapping and long history here, but they were all questions he didn't have answers for, mostly because he didn't have answers to his OWN questions. "How long had he been gone?" "What happened to him when he was here?" "Why did he get sent back?" "Why hasn't anyone answered those questions for him?"

And because of that, he wasn't exactly certain what to expect when he got there. After all, Katara's love often came in the form of snowballs to the face.

Not that that mattered. He cared enough that it didn't matter.]

[OOC: Exactly how far Sokka gets before discovering Katara is all dependent upon how long Katara rests. :D]