i_am_not_cute | ⚡ 9th zap

[Early in the morning, Pao-Lin returns from her mission, exhausted but itching to get back to normal (Luceti) life. Two weeks just for combat testing? What the hell was that about? She's a pretty fit girl, and there'd been two days of break in the middle of it all, but some of the things the Malnosso made her do strained even her. Which, she supposes, was the point of it all, but it still sucked. She's so very glad to be back in the village, with friends and good food and her own apartment, and when she gets back to said apartment she sits on her couch with some snacks and her journal to check what she missed. There's going to be a lot to go through, but after being up and about nearly nonstop the past two weeks, Pao-Lin doesn't mind sitting still for a while, so sit still she does, eagerly flipping through the pages.

The eagerness quickly fades when she comes across Ginia's journal post not two days before, declaring the departure of one Rupert Giles. The announcement unsettles Pao-Lin: Giles was one of the first people she'd met in Luceti, someone who seemed like he'd always been around and always would be. Although the two hadn't been that close, she'd liked him a lot and they'd experienced quite a few things together. To have him just suddenly be gone...

With unease burning in her throat, Pao-Lin continues perusing past entries. Seems like some sort of experiment happened while she was away...not that anyone seems to remember what happened then. (Perhaps for the better? She's certainly glad she missed out on things.) There's an announcement from the Malnosso about the missions, and --

Toph. Toph is gone, too.

Her heart thuds against her chest, tripping over the news. She has to take a moment to catch her breath so she can process things. How could this happen? Pao-Lin wonders. Weren't she and Toph supposed to become even better friends in Luceti in the future? They couldn't do that if she were gone! Were Toph's future memories really just fake ones created by the Malnosso, then? In other circumstances, Pao-Lin's innate optimism would take over and reassure her that maybe Toph, like Luca, would come back eventually. She'd have to, if they were going to be much closer later on. But Pao-Lin's tired from her mission, and barely recovered from learning about Giles' departure, so she's not bouncing back into shape as easily as she should.

The final blow comes when she finds Mia's voicepost about Amiti being sent home. After that, Pao-Lin doesn't even bother checking the rest of the entries.

Three friends, gone within two weeks. She didn't even get to say goodbye to any of them properly. And none of them had even known she was gone, either: by the time she'd actually found the mission summons in her journal, Pao-Lin had to report in. There was only enough time for a quick message to Luca letting him know that their drawing lessons were temporarily on hold, and then she had to get ready and head out, more concerned with what she'd have to do on this mission than about losing friends in the meantime. It's not like the girl has any shortage of them in Luceti, but they're still all dear to her, seeing how few she's had in her life prior to this.

Pao-Lin slowly closes her journal and sets it on a nearby coffee table, next to her forgotten snacks. She lies down on the couch, clutches a pillow to her chest, and silently cries a little.]

***

[Once she's pulled herself together sufficiently enough, Pao-Lin heads out into Luceti to go about her day. Despite having spent most of the past two weeks involved in strenuous physical activity, she'll still go through her kung fu forms by the river, though her movements won't be as spirited or as focused as they usually are. She'll take her main meals at Seventh Heaven, but she'll drop by the bakery for some pocket food before wandering aimlessly through the streets, not going anywhere in particular but not wanting to stay at home and brood, either. At night she can be found at Good Spirits, staring morosely at a melting milkshake. If approached at any point, she'll put on the brightest smile she can, but at this moment the brightness will be less like sunshine and more like a flickering lightbulb.]

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[The young Eliatrope watches a while longer, finishing off his bun, before pulling himself up to a standing position on the branch.]

Hey! [He doesn't want to scare her--too badly--but he wants to talk.] You're moves are really cool!

[Pao-Lin manages to bite down a startled yelp when she hears someone talking to her. She turns and scans the area for the source of the voice.]

Oh...um...th-thank you. [Sheepish smile.] Guess you were watching, huh...

[Feeling bad about startling the girl, he jumps down from the tree and uses his portals, arriving only feet away from her with the bare minimum of passes. He smiles himself, chagrinned, once there.]

Yeah. Sorry, I didn't know you wanted privacy...

It's fine. [She had actually wanted it, for once, but at the same time she didn't want to be alone, which is why she had chosen to do her daily practice by the river today, instead of trekking out to the Battle Dome or to the barracks. Pao-Lin's slightly disappointed that she'd been interrupted, but she supposes that with the lack of real concentration on her forms, she hadn't really been getting much true practice in anyway. So she smiles at Yugo.] You can warp too, huh?

[Yugo sees that she did have her reservations, and determines to make it up to her somehow, in some way. He didn't like upsetting people, but knew it was inevitable sometimes.

Her question, however, confuses him.]

Warp? I'm an Eliatrope. We use portals to get from one place to another...and a few other things.

An Eliatrope, huh? Sorry, it looked a little like warping to me. That looks like a really useful ability, though.

It does, but it's also cool and fun! ...you look like you know some useful things too, with how you move.

Ah, well...I have been doing kung fu for about ten years now. But I still have a lot to learn.

Ten years? [He hadn't done anything for ten years yet!] You must be really good at it if you've been practicing for that long.

Anyone can get good at something as long as they keep working at it! Were you interested in learning kung fu, or something like it?

Actually, it looked pretty similar to how I fight, though I'm not nearly as good as you.

Huh, really? Do they call it kung fu in your world, too?

Uh...

I don't know what its called.

Edited 2012-02-14 01:52 (UTC)

Can you show it to me, then? I'd love to see it.

Sure thing!

[he does, with a little embarrassment. He doesn't practice like she does, but his skills are honed from much experience in both quelling drunkards in his Papa's Inn and fighting the wrongs he encounters. The portals are kept to a minimum, as they are a fun addition and not wholly necessary to displaying his punches, kicks, and dodges.

He stops standing on his hands, and falls into a lounging position on the ground with a big, somewhat sheepish grin.]

See what I mean? Kinda similar. You like?

[She definitely likes! Pao-Lin claps when Yugo's finished.]

That's great! You're really good, much better than I was when I was your age. [~~YOU KIDS THESE DAYS WITH YOUR PORTALS AND YOUR CRAZY HATS AND YOUR --~~]

Really? But you've been practicing for ten years now!

[No, he's not going to mention that he lived a full life before this one, and that he was a protector of his people in that life. He doesn't really remember it anyway, he just has stories to go by.]

That just means you'll be way better than me once you've been practicing for ten years! Did you learn this yourself, or did you have a teacher?

My papa did. Some of it I figured out myself too. Before he adopted me, Papa was an adventurer and treasure hunter, so he ran into many strange and cool places and people.

He taught me everything, really.

[She laughs.] I taught myself a little bit by watching old kung fu movies, but then I nearly broke my neck trying to do something, so my parents sent me to go take lessons so I wouldn't hurt myself.

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