InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Candle Jack..."

Tyler Johnson (tyler_unleashed) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2008-06-20 20:24:00

Entry tags:

complete, day 4, katara, tyler johnson

Day Four
Who: Tyler and Katara
When: Late afternoon
What: Coffee then computers.
Where: At the coffee bar/ computer room
Rating: TBD
Status: Complete

Tyler's third day on Mirage began much later than the day before as the blond man didn't haul himself out of bed until at least noon. He had stayed up late the night before poking around the resort on his own, partly to get a feel for the place and partly to see if he could track down Brigitte. Yes, the last time he had seen the brunette she had locked him outside to face certain doom but she was also the only person Tyler knew before arriving here so he felt driven to track her down and see if she knew what the hell had happened. Of course, fate conspired against Tyler so he had absolutely no luck and finally went back to his room around 3am. When he awoke at 12pm, he practically fell out of bed and stumbled toward the shower.

There was nothing like a piping hot shower to wake a man up though and soon Tyler was feeling more energetic by the time he got out.He soon remembered that he had promised to meet up with Katara that afternoon at the coffee bar. Deciding that he wasn't particularly hunger, Tyler simply brushed his teeth, combed his hair and got dressed. It was kinda cool that his room came equipped with almost everything Tyler could need, like clothes and junk. He picked out a pair of dark blue jeans and a white button down shirt with a wife-beater under it. Was he dressing up a little? Perhaps but c'mon, he was meeting a pretty girl for coffee! He couldn't exactly go in stained shirts and ripped jeans, could he?

After leaving his room and unit A, Tyler made his way to the main building and down the long corridor toward the coffee bar. Aside from one golem, he saw no one along the way and silently wondered what the other residents were up to. There hadn't been any mandatory activities for today, something Tyler was kinda glad for. Bowling had been fun but if he had been forced to go horseback riding or something like that earlier he might have punched someone.

It was about a little after one when Tyler got to the coffee place and since he didn't see Katara right away, Tyler headed in to take a seat at the counter. Another golem was there in the back so Tyler called out to him. "Can I get double double here?" Of course Tyler was speaking Canadian lingo for a two sugar two cream coffee so he realized he probably should explain. Yet just as he opened his mouth the golem came over and laid the coffee down in front of him. "Thanks", he murmured before taking a sip.

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k_waterbender
2008-06-20 06:57 pm UTC (link)

Katara had awoken that name to the comfort of her Southern Water Tribe style room again. For a split second, before the haze of sleep quite drifted away, she had thought maybe she truly was back home. However, logic had soon taken hold, and a sinking feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach. Maybe if she didn’t leave her room today she could pretend for a little while that she really was home again. No, that wouldn’t do. It wasn’t her style at all. Besides, she had made plans to meet with Tyler that afternoon. It was only morning, but she needed to at least bathe, braid her hair, and feed herself so that she could roam over Mirage before she meant to see the man.

The Waterbender did just that. This time she took her water skin with her. Yesterday she had forgotten it, but this time she wouldn’t. There hadn’t been anything threatening in this place yet, but she could never be certain that things couldn’t go wrong. She didn’t need her water skin because she could pull water from objects, but the water skin was more convenient.

Throughout the day she wandered more than anything. She tested the kitchens again, but they had everything. It was impossible to find something they didn’t have. As far as she knew she was the only person from her world in the entire place, but they seemed to have prepared long before she’d arrived. It was nice to have some food from home. They didn’t have it in the Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation. Taking her blubbered seal jerky with her to munch on, she began a quick self-guided tour of the main building.

A lot of what she saw was incredibly strange, and she had no idea what to call them, so she passed them by. Katara would have gone outside to look at more, but the sky was overcast and the day dreary, so she simply went elsewhere. In her search, she found a wide expanse of books in a library. For a moment, her heart beat rapidly in her chest, as she remembered Wan Shi Tong and his Library. A shudder went through her at the thought of knowledge spirit’s wrath, but she sucked it back and walked into the room. The only moving creature in it, aside from her, was a wooden golem.

She didn’t fear them, nor did they make her so uncomfortable. They rather reminded her of the knowledge seeking foxes Wan Shi Tong had used. They had been friendly no matter what they did. Then again, the threat in the summons said that the golems would force her to go bowling if she refused, so in reality they were just the arms and legs of the planet. Katara didn’t think they were living entities. She saw them only as purposeful art from expert bending.

When she finished in the library she realized it must be about time for her to go meet with Tyler. She had spent quite a while roaming the grounds, especially the library. So many interesting books were in that place, and she decided she would have to return some time soon.

Recalling that he wanted to meet at the Coffee Bar, Katara backtracked in her mind to where she had found the place earlier. She walked quickly, hoping she wasn’t overly late. When she entered the room, a smile passed over her lips as she saw Tyler just sitting down. It most likely meant he hadn’t been here too long. She slipped into a seat beside him just as the stone golem delivered his coffee. Katara had never had coffee before, but it didn’t smell bad- which was thankful considering the area around the bar smelled a lot like it. She wanted to order some, but there were so many different choices.

“Hello.” The Waterbender said as she smiled at Tyler. “I’ve never had coffee before. There’s so much to choose from. What would you recommend?”

Now that she actually had a chance to look at him- yesterday she’d seen more of his back than his face as he bowled- she realized he was even better looking than she first thought. A sense of disloyalty to Aang silenced that thought, though. Only three days away from him, and already she was looking to others? No. It was just an observation. She would get back to Aang soon enough. For now, this one would most likely become a friend, and, if he agreed, he could also become a co-conspirator in escaping this place.

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tyler_unleashed
2008-06-21 07:17 am UTC (link)

"Good morning...I mean, good afternoon", Tyler quickly corrected. "You gotta forgive me, I was up late last night so I only got up about an hour ago". When she informed him that she never had coffee before, Tyler reached for a near by plastic menu that rested on the counter. It was a small thing, just one sheet that listed the available drinks with one sentence descriptions. No prices though, Tyler noted. So far nothing seemed to have a price around the resort.It was nice but rather confusing. Who the hell was giving these people a free ride and why?

"Well, it depends. Do you want something that tastes sweet or something a little more bitter?" Tyler asked Katara out loud. "If you haven't drank coffee before I recommend something on the sweet side like cafe mocha or a regular coffee with a couple spoons of sugar. Or", Tyler continued as he scanned down the menu. "There's tea and hot chocolate available too, if you'd rather have that". Tyler handed her the menu so she could decide for herself while he took another sip of coffee.

"I just have a regular coffee with two sugars and two creams. Kinda sweet but bitter aftertaste", he explained as he set the heavy white mug back on the counter. The coffee bar was a pretty comfortable room with the actual coffee bar to one side and tables and chairs filling the rest of the room. A doorway off to the side piqued Tyler's interest but there was time to explore it later. Instead the blond man turned his attention back to Katara. "So how was your morning so far? Meet anyone new?"

Tyler had been keeping an eye for new faces and part of him really wanted to witness someone actually arriving. For some reason he believed that he saw someone physically arrive here then perhaps Tyler would be able to figure out how to get back home. Not that he was particularly brainy or a skilled planner but Tyler figured it couldn't be that hard. It didn't seem like it had been hard for the planet to bring them so surely they must be able to leave.

Yeah but what about that plaque? a cynical voice asked in his mind. If said you could never leave. Tyler sighed. Well I won't know for sure until I actually try!, he shot back at that cynical voice. Throughout this internal argument, Tyler's face had a serious expression and he realized it might seem like he wasn't paying attention so he snapped out of it. "Sorry about, just thinking", he offered the apology in case Katara was a affronted.

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k_waterbender
2008-06-21 10:47 am UTC (link)

“Good afternoon to you, too.” Katara chuckled when she heard he’d stayed up late and slept until a short time ago. She couldn’t remember the last time she had stayed up so late that she couldn’t wake early in the morning. There had always been way too much to do throughout the day to take such liberties. Ever since she was a child she had to wake up to help with the chores of the Tribe. When she became a teenager she’d had to train in Waterbending and teach Aang the art while helping him learn about the Fire Nation and get there so he could defeat Fire Lord Ozai.

Katara listened to him as he made his suggestions and took the menu from him. Her eyes scanned over it. She could understand the words just fine, but she had never had any of these things before so she couldn’t really make a choice based on what it said. The choices for tea- listed on the other side- were better understood. Iroh, Zuko’s uncle, had given her the best tea drinks she had ever had in her life.

Though she was all for trying new things, she thought that this time she might just go with what she knew. If she didn’t enjoy the coffee she didn’t want to gag on it or make a face in front of Tyler. Looking up she spotted the stony-faced golem and spoke, “I’d like a cup of ginseng tea, please.” To her surprise a clear mug filled with steaming liquid was set in front of her. When she tried to take a sip she realized it was much too hot so she blew on it a bit to cool it. The difference between Katara doing this and any other person was that her breath truly did cool it off enough for her to drink. Controlling water was so useful in many areas other than healing and battle.

When he spoke again she took another sip of her tea and looked his way. “Unless seeing another golem counts as meeting someone new, I didn’t. Do you think there are many of golems here, or do you think there are only a few- like one of each kind of substance? They do all look exactly the same except for the material they’re made of. I guess we won’t really know until we see them together, though.

“Oh! I did find this fantastic library, though! It has books on just about anything, including things I’d never dreamed of before. It even had a couple books on things that were in my home world. I wonder if new books are added every time a new person comes to accommodate knowledge from their worlds? Too bad it‘s unlikely to have anything in it about leaving this place.” As she spoke her eyes drifted toward her tea, but her silvery gaze lifted to him again. “Did you meet anyone new?” Katara recognized the thoughtful expression on his face and wondered if her words about escape had caused it. For a moment she rather hoped so, but because she was unsure she decided not to push the topic just yet. When he apologized, she only smiled and shook her head. “It’s all right. I sometimes lose myself in thought, at least since I’ve gotten here.”

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tyler_unleashed
2008-06-21 08:15 pm UTC (link)

Tyler thought about the golems after Katara brought them up. To be honest, aside from yesterday when one forcibly dragged him to the bowling alley, Tyler hadn't given the creepy looking men much thought. "I don't know. I've only seen like one or two at time", he finally replied. She had mentioned the library which was kinda interesting although Tyler had never really been big on reading. It was alright now and then but Tyler was more of a television guy.

"No, I didn't meet anyone new, aside from the people I met yesterday and the day before. I heard that someone I know is here though", he told Katara. "I was kinda of looking for her last night but I didn't have any luck finding her." After a pause, he added. "Maybe she's not really here though, maybe that Ginger girl was just screwing with me. She was kinda nuts".

In fact, it she had been rather strange. Much stranger than the others Tyler had met who had at least been friendly and not saying crazy shit about cannibalism.

Tyler decided to push it out of his mind.

"So you don't think there's anyway of getting out of here?" he asked, thinking of Katara's statement a few seconds ago about it being unlikely they'll ever leave this place. "I mean, I think there's gotta be way", he continued before taking a sip of coffee. "The planet managed to bring up here right? Or at least something managed to bring us here. I'm not entirely sold on this living planet thing but if we were brought then shouldn't we be able to get back to were we belong?"

As soon as Tyler said that he thought about where he had come from. Right before he landed on the planet Tyler had nearly been dinner for a werewolf. Tyler frowned. "Assuming, of course, that we want to go back", he added sardonically.

"Considering what I was in the middle of right before I got here, going back might not be a good idea. I was pretty lucky I didn't get killed". That was a pretty dramatic statement and Tyler realized he should probably explain, lest Katara get the wrong idea. "I was at a cabin in the middle of the woods. I got locked out and met a very large, a very angry looking wolf. It was attacking me right before I got here".

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k_waterbender
2008-06-22 10:39 pm UTC (link)

Katara listened as he spoke, curious about his answers. At some point she suddenly wondered if there was anything in the library about the Planet at all. It would be nice to learn as much as she could about this place. It certainly couldn’t hurt, even if she didn’t learn how to get out of here.

When he told her about the girl he’d been hunting for, she smiled. “Is she the reason you were awake all evening? I take it Ginger knows her, too?” Then another thought struck her. “Is she your girlfriend?” It seemed a bit unfair that she should be torn away from everyone she knew and loved and cared for- like Aang- while he was just within reach of his lover.

Then again, if life were fair she would never have lost her mother to the Fire Nation and her father would never have had to leave to fight in the war. If life were fair Aang wouldn’t have lost all of his people while he was frozen in ice for a hundred years. Life wasn’t fair. That’s just the way things were. It wasn’t so important to dwell on what wasn’t fair as it was to learn from what actually did happen in life. After all, good things happened in spite of everything bad. Aang Mastered every element of bending within months. Katara had met Aang and in their travels she had become one of the greatest Waterbenders in the world within months. Sokka had become a great warrior because he had had a lot of experience in the art. The Fire Nation’s rule over the world had also ended because they were able to defeat Fire Lord Ozai and Azula, and peace had been restored. Good things really did happen despite all that was bad.

Katara looked up from her tea at Tyler a little surprised he took her words to mean that she had no hope for leaving the place. “No. I meant only that it won’t be easy. You’re right. If there was a way to bring us here, there has to be a way off the planet. I’m not giving up hope; it’s all I have left.

“When I first arrived I didn’t believe that a planet brought me here. I thought it had to be someone on the planet, but then I saw the golems. I’ve never seen such detail from any one bender in my life. I don’t believe a person is powerful enough to bring us all here and maintain everything within this place, like changing our rooms with our every whim and have any kind of food available. This place had food I grew up on that I haven’t had in a couple of years because I’ve been helping refugees in the Earth Kingdom. This place isn’t even near an ocean source from which to get that food. I don’t think it’s the Spirit World we’ve been brought to any more. I believe this is really a Planet that has undeniable power.”

Again she felt surprised at a remark of his, and her eyes widened. “Why wouldn’t you want to go back?” Katara wanted nothing more than to go back to her own world. It was nice here and everything, but it wasn’t home, and she missed her old life dearly. However, when Tyler explained the situation to her she couldn’t help feeling that this was a better place than the one where he’d been. “I guess this place is better than certain death. At least no one can kill you here. I wonder what the punishment would be from the Planet if someone tried to kill another?” Even as she voiced the thought, she realized she didn’t really want to know at all. A small shiver moved down her back, but she suppressed it and drank her tea.

“What was life like for you before a wolfbat almost killed you?” She asked, assuming that was the kind of wolf creature that had nearly ended him. She wasn’t used to animals simply being plain animals. In fact, the only ones she’d ever really encountered was the Earth King’s bear and penguins- though to people from other worlds it would have been quite strange that a penguin had four flipper-like wings instead of two.

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tyler_unleashed
2008-06-23 07:30 pm UTC (link)

"A wolf-what?" Tyler replied, a surprised laugh escaping him despite his confusion. "No, it was just a regular wolf...well, I don't if it was regular wolf because it was pretty big and ugly. Not like the normal wolves you see on the nature channel", he continued, "But it didn't look anything like a bat".

The blond man shook his head as an image of the wolf that had nearly killed him came to mind. Being stuck on an unknown planet might suck but anything was better than being dinner. "Well, when I'm not being chased by man-eating wolves, I'm usually working at the clinic", he answered Katara's question in a sardonic tone.

"The Happier Times Clinic to be exact but don't let the name fool you. It's not exactly a happy place, it's this old hospital that's part a terminal care unit and part rehab clinic for female drug addicts. I work as an orderly but I'm hoping to become a doctor at some point", he added.

"Just need to go through another decade of training", Tyler joked, absently playing with the coffee mug by twisting in his hands. He turned his blue eyes on Katara then and asked, "What about you? You said you were helping refugees in some place called the Earth Kingdom?"

He had to admit that it was hard getting use to Katara references to her home world. She had told Tyler and the others yesterday that she was from the Southern Water Tribe and now she had mentioned a kingdom. Part of him wondered if she was from another planet herself.

Considering that they were on a different planet right now, it wasn't that big of a stretch. Maybe she's just from a different time, Tyler rationalized for a moment before feeling silly. A different time? God, this place was going to be hard to adjust to. Tyler found that he had to ask.

"So you said you were from the Southern Water Tribe? Were is that to? Like is it--" Tyler paused for a moment, feeling like a bit of an idiot for even asking this--" Is it on earth?"

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k_waterbender
2008-06-23 08:42 pm UTC (link)

“A regular wolf? Katara asked skeptically. Was there even a such thing? Perhaps long ago, but she had never seen a regular wolf. Perhaps in his world single-species animals were more common than the hybrid ones in her world. “Nature channel?” She asked next. “What is that?” His words were so strange.

Then he told her what he did as his job, and he almost completely lost her. The terminology he used was unlike the language she heard used in her home. She obviously understood that the name of the place was supposed to indicate things getting better. Though the words “terminal” and “drug” were unknown she understood care and addict. Slowly- very slowly- her thinking progressed to incorporate the idea that it was some sort of healing place. Feeling the need to make sure she asked, “Is a clinic like a healing hut? Is a doctor supposed to be a healer, while an orderly keeps people doing their jobs to maintain order?” Even with her questions she couldn’t help but to note the bitter tones in which he spoke. Was he upset that being here was life or death, or the fact that he would never be able to fulfill what he worked toward, or both? Probably both.

After taking another drink of her tea she said, “I’m a healer, too. I was burned once, and I discovered a way to heal myself with waterbending. It takes ten years of training for your people to become healers?” She was amazed it would possibly take so long. That was the better portion of a person’s life. Katara kindly left out the fact that she became a talented healer within a matter of months.

Feeling his eyes on her, she lifted sapphire optics to meet his. “Yes. There was a huge war that lasted one hundred years. The Fire Nation became greedy and wanted to conquer the other three nations so it would have control over the world. It obliterated the Air Nomads before my parents were even born. The war reduced the Southern Water Tribe to only a couple dozen people, but the Northern Water Tribe was their real goal. However, they couldn’t defeat them. So, they went after the second most powerful Nation. All over the Earth Kingdom villages were destroyed and cities were taken. When the capitol Ba Sing Se fell to the Fire Nation’s control it was horrible. The Avatar defeated the Fire Lord a short while later, though, and ever since we’ve been helping people in the Earth Kingdom recover. Now that the rule of the Fire Nation has been passed on to a kind leader, the Fire Nation has also been helping the people it harmed.” It was strange actually having to explain the war to someone. The last time she had had to do that was when she was fourteen and met Aang for the first time. He had no idea what had happened, but they learned together exactly what had been done to all of the nations.

When he asked her, hesitantly, if she was from Earth her brows cinched together. She had just told him about the Earth Kingdom. Why did he ask her again? Suddenly it became somewhat clear to her and her brows relaxed. “Is Earth the name of your home world? In truth, there is no actual name for where I’m from, other than the names of the nations. Before I arrived here I only thought there were two worlds: the World of the Living and the Spirit World. In fact, I thought I’d gone to the Spirit World when I first came. I know better now. The Southern Water Tribe is in the south pole of my world, though.”

Katara thought a moment. Even though she had never experienced his world, and therefore wouldn’t know where Canada had been in relation to any other place, it would still be interesting to know what sort of climate he’d lived in before he’d arrived. “Where is your Canada in the world… Earth… that you’re from? Is it in the Southern parts of your world, too?” With another drink of her tea, she drained the liquid from the mug.

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tyler_unleashed
2008-06-27 03:55 pm UTC (link)

Katara's world turned out to be a lot more complicated then Tyler had expected. He couldn't imagine living through a war but hers was a life beyond his simple one. Just as his mention of nature channels and clinics confused her, Katara's use of the words avatar and water bending. He thought about asking her what they meant when Katara asked him where Canada was to on his planet.

"It's up north, closer to the north pole than the south but we do a have south pole too...although I've never been there. Probably won't ever be there", he added, "You know, since it's all ice. No one on my world really lives there expect the penguins". The blond man finished off the rest of his coffee and thought about how to explain where he was from. "My country, Canada, is know for it's cold winters but other than that...god, this sounds like I'm reading a homework report", Tyler laughed. He decided he was better off describing the clinic instead.

"A clinic is kinda like a healing hut I guess", he continued "But larger and with a lot of doctors and nurses...healers", Tyler added as a way to explain it. He stared at Katara for a few moments before it was obvious he was staring.

"I'm sorry, it's just our worlds are completely different it seems. I've never heard of anything like an Avatar or Fire Lord and...and what's water bending? How do you bend water? I mean, it's a liquid".

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k_waterbender
2008-06-28 02:56 pm UTC (link)

It was strange to learn that people in his world didn’t live in the North and South Poles because they were made of ice. Katara’s home land was made of ice, and it was still habitable for her people. “You have penguins where you’re from, too?” She asked. “Too bad you’ve never been to the North Pole. I bet you’ve never been penguin sledding, either. I did it all the time as a kid.” She refrained from stating the obvious fact that her home was known for its cold seasons- period. She didn’t know what a homework report was supposed to be, but she didn’t ask.

She listened to him talk about the clinic. So it was just like a large building for the purpose of healing. Doctors were healers, and apparently nurses were, too. Katara looked up from her empty glass to Tyler and realized that he was staring at her a bit intently. A soft pink tinted her cheeks, and she looked away before asking, “What’s the difference between a doctor and a nurse?”

Katara blushed again as he revealed he had no idea what she was talking about. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been around these things so long I automatically assume everyone else knows what I’m talking about. The Avatar is the one person designated in each lifetime to master the bending of the four elements- water, earth, fire, and air. He, or she, is also the link between the living and Spirit World. The Avatar is supposed to keep peace and balance throughout the world.

“The Fire Lord is the ruler of the Fire Nation, just like the Earth King is the ruler of the Earth Kingdom. There’s a ruler of the Water Nation as well. When there was an Air Nation there was a council of monks who ruled over each location.” Her eyes widened when she realized she missed the most vital part. She was still talking about bending and all that when he didn’t know what it was.

“I wish I could show you the other bending powers, but I’m not the Avatar. I can only bend water. It’s… Let me just show you.” The waterbender figured a demonstration would be her best bet in making it clear to him what she meant. She looked up to the golem and requested a cup of water. Immediately the request was fulfilled, and she had her water.

“Okay. There are many things that a waterbender can do. I can move the water around,” Katara hovered her hand over the glass and lifted it, moving her fingers closer together. The clear water rose from the glass in a stream thin stream. Moving her other hand the water burst into three different sections. “I can freeze and unfreeze it,” She blew on the first section while keeping the other two sections hovering. It froze into a ball of ice. Inhaling a breath of air she flicked her fingers and it unfroze. She joined it into one of the remaining sections. “I can create steam,” With another motion the water suddenly became a hot cloud of water droplets that floated up toward the ceiling. She gathered the steam with another motion and turned it back into a more condensed version of water. It joined with the other section and became one stream once again. “I can use it to heal, and I can use it to fight. Oh! I can also bend the water in plants to make them move.” Katara refrained from stating that she could, in fact, bend the water in people when the moon was full. She hated that ability, thus she never used it.

Removing herself from her seat momentarily to display the water whip for him, she maneuvered the water so the end of it slapped the glass in which had previously contained tea, shattering it. The golem moved to clean it up, and Katara allowed the stream to return to the unbroken glass. Reseating herself she blushed a little. “Sorry. I guess I overdid it with the breaking of the glass. That was unnecessary.” Her eyes lit up, though.

“People with the gift for bending can bend the other elements as well! Airbending consists of bending the air currents, earthbending consists of bending dirt, rock, and clay. Only one earthbender in existence can bend metal. Firebending consists of creating and harnessing the power of flame and sometimes lightning. It’s all very beautiful when you witness these displays at festivals. The architecture in the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes is completely made by bending.

“Do people in your world truly have no gifts like bending?”

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tyler_unleashed
2008-06-30 07:02 am UTC (link)

Tyler watched with a amazement as Katara demonstrated her gift to him. The water lifted from the glass first and divided into three section, freezing the first one then unfreezing it, moving the sections together and making steam. The blond man said nothing but sat there with his mouth opened in amazement.

No one had ever shown Tyler anything like this before. It was pretty clear Katara was quite powerful as she expertly maneuvered the water and broke the her mug. Tyler jumped a little at that but golem showed no reaction, just as it never did.

“That…that was amazing”, he breathed. The idea that people could do that with water or other elements was beyond Tyler but he was greatly impressed. “No one I know can do shit like that but I wish they could”, he said excitedly. “That would be so cool!” Tyler shook his head, “My world is pretty ordinary, nothing strange like that ever happens…nothing water-bending is strange”, he quickly added. “It’s just very different than what I’m use to”.

“My world relies on technology to do things like build houses or move water around, like plumbing wise but it’s pretty ordinary. So far this place is very similar to my world except, you know, there aren’t any golems and buildings don’t change to suit your needs like this place does”. Tyler glanced around the coffee bar and aside from the golem it was like any other coffee place in Canada. That was when he noticed the doorway off to the side with a sign that said computer room.

“Hey, check that out”, Tyler said as he climbed off his chair and moved toward the door. He opened it to reveal a room with rows of desks and computers. “Your world doesn’t have computers, does it?” he asked Katara. “Mine does”, the man further explained. “We use them for research, entertainment and”, he grinned over his shoulder at Katara, “Contacting people. Maybe I might be able to email home or for help with one of these”.

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k_waterbender
2008-06-30 03:25 pm UTC (link)

Katara beamed. It was rare to find a person who was so amazed by bending. In her world everyone knew about it, and she wasn’t the only one with the gift. The most amusing part was the fact that those tricks weren’t even close to the real power she could wield with her bending. “Thanks. Well, now you know one person who can waterbend. What is ‘shit’?” The last question was genuine curiosity. She heard him use it before, when they were bowling yesterday, but he had used it negatively. However, now he was using it in a completely different way. It was confusing.

“If this place is supposed to be similar to your home world, then this is all very strange to me. I didn’t know pictures could move and make sound. The closest I’ve ever come to the technology your world seems to have is when I would see the inventions in the Fire Nation, but even those weren’t nearly as far along as all of this.”

Katara’s eyes moved toward where his gaze had gone. Computer Room? What was a computer? She followed him to find out what it was. Peaking over his shoulder she saw just what a computer was. It didn’t look all that strange. She had never seen anything like it, but none of them were active, so she only saw black screens staring back at her. “No, my world doesn’t have them. I don’t mean to dash you hopes, Tyler, but I think if the Planet wanted us to be able to contact those we left behind there would be an easier way.” Even as she spoke, though, a surge of hope was winding it’s way through her belly. If he could contact his people, maybe she could contact hers. “Trying can’t hurt, though. How do they work?”

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tyler_unleashed
2008-07-04 08:23 am UTC (link)

Katara made a good point. If whoever was running this place really wanted to keep them captive then it would they really supply people with a way to contact the outside word? And what would Tyler say anyway? Email his parents or friends with a ‘Hey, I’m trapped on another planet. Send help!’? They would think he was nuts. Have they even noticed I’m gone? Tyler silently wondered. Surely they had to have noticed by now. He felt a desperate urge to contact his family well up within and he was grateful when Katara suggested it couldn’t hurt to try the computers. It reminded him that he couldn’t give up hope just yet.

“Well”, Tyler started as he headed toward the one black computer with an LCD screen. “You push on this button like so”, he continued as he quickly bent over and turned on the PC. “That turns on the PC and then you push this button on the screen”, Tyler added, his movements following his words as he turned on the screen, “And wait a minute for it come on”. Within seconds the screen blinked to life as Tyler sat down in a black chair, showing the blue windows screen that Tyler was familiar with. After the desktop loaded, Tyler sought out the browsing using the mouse. “This is called a mouse”, he explained. “You use it to direct the arrow on the screen and to select items on the screen, like this web browser.”

If he was going too fast for Katara, Tyler didn’t realize it since computers were so second nature in his world but he tried to explain the best that he could. “This is a web browser”, Tyler continued. “And I really wish I was better at explaining this”, he added a bit ruefully when he thought about the best way to explain a web browser. “Is any of this making sense so far?”

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k_waterbender
2008-07-04 03:59 pm UTC (link)

Katara grabbed a chair, rolled it over to the computer Tyler had chosen and seated herself on it beside Tyler’s. She watched and listened intently as he described just what he was doing. He wasn’t going too fast at all. She was able to catch on relatively fast. It wasn’t the simplest thing, but the basics of the workings of a computer weren’t so hard to understand. By simply watching and listening, she learned how to use a mouse and bring new things up with it. Windows where the squares with information in them. “Why are they called ‘web browsers’?” Browsing was an obvious one. A person could peruse the contents of the window.

“Don’t worry, Tyler. You’re doing just fine. I think I’m keeping up all right. It makes more sense than it would have if I’d been doing it on my own.”

Her eyes scanned hastily over the glowing screen. There were so many things on which a person could click. It was a wonder anyone knew exactly what they all did. “How do you think you’ll be able to contact your family?” She wondered if anyone knew she was gone. It was certain that they missed her as much as she missed them if they did. Were they looking for her? Was anyone in trouble, needing her help, and she wasn’t there to assist? A sinking feeling started to set in her gut. So many things could be happening in her home world, important things that she could help her friends and family with. While she was here learning about strange technology and relaxing, they could all be busting their butts trying to do something else. How would they ever forgive her when she returned, if she returned. No, of course they would forgive her. It’s not like she sent herself to this odd Planet.

Katara desperately hoped that if Tyler could contact his family, she could contact hers.

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tyler_unleashed
2008-07-06 08:49 am UTC (link)

Tyler was glad to hear his explanation was making some sense as the web browser opened on the screen. The home page was a generic search site which Tyler explained to Katara. "This is a search engine, you can type in anything, press enter and see if there's anything on the web about it. Like this", he said as he typed in email. A list of sites popped up on the screen and Tyler clicked on the yahoo one. "I'll try to contact my family using email, or electronic mail. You can send messages electronically over a computer network to another person which they can access on their computer...if they're logged on to the internet".

Tyler signed in and saw a few messages in his inbox. One was from his friend Marcus who worked at the clinic with him. The subject line read 'Where are you?'. Clicking it open, Tyler's eyes quickly scanned the message. "Okay, so they know I'm missing", Tyler said to Katara, feeling a little relieved. "Now I'm going to try to email him back and let him know where I am and that I'm okay". The blond man typed up a quick message and clicked send but a message came up on the computer.

"Message cannot be sent. That's weird". Tyler copied the message, went into compose and tried to send the email to his mother. The same message came up. "Cannot be sent. Is it the computer or the connection?" He mused out loud. "It's possible the computer might have some sort of Firewall or something to block messages being sent".

Tyler slouched in his chair, disappointed. "Well, that sucks", he groaned. "Looks like my great idea is a dud like you predicted".

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k_waterbender
2008-07-06 11:17 am UTC (link)

Katara read over his shoulder, as she listened to him explain. Email? She knew what mail was- especially after she saw there were messages with it- but that was a strange word. “What does the ‘e’ stand for in ‘email’?” She asked curiously.

When he explained that they had to have a computer to get the messages, Katara’s own hope of contacting her friends and family were immediately dashed. Computers didn’t exist in her world. There was no way that she could send any of them a message. For Tyler’s sake, she hoped that he could contact them. She squeezed his shoulder gently when she noted that the man could receive messages. That made it almost certain that he could send them, too.

However, when he tried to reply her face fell. The disappointment was clear on Tyler’s face and in his voice and demeanor. “I’m sorry, Tyler. I wish I had been wrong. I was so sure that once you were able to get messages that you could send them, too. I suppose the Planet has a cruel streak to it. It gives us everything we could want except our friends and family; it even allows us to see their messages apparently, but it won’t allow us to talk to them. At least we learned sooner than later.” Was that really such a good thing, though? Maybe never knowing that loved ones could send messages via email and the like would have been better than learning they could, but a person couldn’t respond to them. “I’m sorry.” She said again, this time more softly.

“Well, what else can a computer do, or is it specifically for communication?” If it was only for talking back and forth that was more than cruel of the Planet.

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tyler_unleashed
2008-07-08 07:15 am UTC (link)

Tyler sighed. Katara was right, this planet did have a cruel streak. He never would have imagined he would miss his family as much as he did. Tyler had taken for granted that they would always be there when he wanted. Still, there wasn’t any point in moping about it now. That was something Tyler could save for later when he was in private. He tried to smile but failed as his face settled into a wistful expression. “Yes, they can be used for other things”, he replied to Katara’s question.

“Even though we can’t use email it’s clear we can still use these things to research stuff, look at things on the internet and…” Tyler minimized the web browser and checked the programs to see what this computer had. “There are games, writing programs, calculator, and some drawing program”, he listed off. “If you want to write, on the computer you just have to open up this program”.

Tyler opened Microsoft word and started typing randomly to show Katara. His blue eyes scanned the room until he saw the printer. “You can also print off what you write by hitting this button”. Tyler hit the print button and within in seconds the printer a few desks down came to life. It was only one sheet but Tyler fetched it to show Katara. Nothing ground shaking but at least it kept Tyler’s mind occupied.

“So your home, does it have mail too?” Tyler asked, somewhat curious but mostly wanting to make conversation.

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k_waterbender
2008-07-08 04:37 pm UTC (link)

Katara tried not to stare at Tyler as she assessed his emotional state. She knew people often liked to be alone with their sorrows, and she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. However, she could practically feel his distress. She was glad she could try and help take his mind off it a little when she inquired what other uses with the computer were.

Research? That must mean there was another vast library, except it was over the internet. “Are there a lot of things on here you can research?” Like possible ways to escape a Planet that’s imprisoning you… Katara thought to herself. Then he demonstrated how to type and print. It was just like a vastly more advanced printing press that a person could do themselves. “Wow. That was so fast!” It was amazing to her, and the text was so crisp and clean, and the ink didn’t smear when she touched it.

“Well, yes. We have mail, but not like computer mail. We send mail through the mail systems or by hawks. It takes a lot longer than this seems to. This is all so amazing, though. I’d never dreamed that such technology could exist.”

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