TENTEN

[71lines]

●TENTEN
On Duty
[video | audio | text]

Comments

Voice;

[heterochrocatic]

Uh, hey Tenten. If you're not there you don't have to pick up or anything. It's Catra. I'm just... Seeing how you're doing, I guess.

[71lines]

[Oh. This was. Awkward. Why'd she have to let the mask slip?]

Yeah, I'm here. I'm fine. Just working on some stuff. How're you?

[heterochrocatic]

[ Let friends worry about you, Tenten. ]

I'm good.

[ There's a quiet, awkward pause that follows. ]

Just checking up I guess.

[71lines]

[She's quiet for a moment, digging for words. It was a lot easier to say you're fine with being friends when you didn't feel like you'd sabotaged everything over the course of a single conversation.]

I'm not up to much right now. Just sitting on the top deck, watching the landscape.

Wondering if this thing would go faster if we all got out and pushed.

[heterochrocatic]

I don't think it's supposed to go fast.

[ A pause. ]

You really okay?I know what it's like, pushing stuff down inside of you and everything. Trying to just seem invulnerable. But something I'm trying to learn is that it's okay to be vulnerable sometimes.

[ Ugh. UGH. She's so bad at this. ]

[71lines]

[There's a long, long silence for a moment there. When she speaks, she sounds a little distant.]

Where I'm from, the leader of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages is a Kage. We're from the Fire Kingdom, so our leader is the Hokage, the Fire Shadow. They're generally the wisest and most powerful ninja in the village.

When the villages were first figuring things out, pulling together, the second Hokage put out the Shinobi Code of Conduct. We get taught the Code in the Academy. It's full of things like "A shinobi must always put the mission first," "A shinobi must never show any weakness," "A shinobi must never show their tears." All stuff to help us kill off emotions and accomplish our missions more easily.

But people can't really live like that, you know? Or, if they do, they're not really people anymore.

...

[She sighs a bit.]

I'm not okay. I don't think I ever will be again. But its not your fault. It's not Adora's, either. I'm working on something else entirely. But I can't be vulnerable around anyone right now, because then they'll try to protect me and that's just...

[heterochrocatic]

Ten. I get it.

[ She feels horrifyingly exposed now and she hates it. Maybe Tenten will take this and turn it into a weapon against her. Maybe she'll laugh at her. Maybe... Maybe... But finds herself caring. Wanting to get what she means across. ]

Growing up in the Horde, showing that you were vulnerable was the same as showing you were weak. You couldn't cry, you couldn't do talk to anyone. It--

[ Tenten can't see her but she grimaces. ]

It messed me up. It messed all of us up a lot. I don't want to protect you. That's fucking stupid.

Fuck. I'm so bad at this. Fuck.

[ Her voice gets further away for a moment, like she's stood up to pace away from her comm or something. A moment or two later her voice returns, louder. ]

I just want you to be able to be fucking honest with me. And I want to know that I didn't like. Mess up something good I had. Again. Because that's all I fucking do in my life, Ten.

[ UGH. ]

I care about you, idiot.

text;

[heterochrocatic]

I don't understand why she won't just LISTEN. I've known her literally my whole life and I still have no idea how to get this through to her.

[71lines]

When I told her to be selfish, I didn't mean about this. Sorry. I warned her she'd end up hurting everyone, and you, but I didn't picture her doing it like this.

At least she only got knocked out. You'd think she'd realize that she's talking to people with experience.

But maybe I don't count, since I'm not a hero.

[heterochrocatic]

No, no. This isn't her being SELFISH. This is her thinking she has to take every problem in the world on her shoulders and her shoulders alone. Believe it or not, this is her being selfless. Or she thinks it is.

[71lines]

I don't know what to do. If this were home, I'd try to shock her out of it, show her how much worse it could've been. Or beat some sense into her. But she doesn't act like people from home, neither of you do.

Then again, she'd probably start beating herself up for not running into Rose Tattoo first.

[heterochrocatic]

Pretty sure she already did that.

[71lines]

Probably. Good thing she didn't, though.

[Full offense, but Tenten's pretty sure she's the better fighter. Then again, she's never seen She-Ra throw down.]

I'd be cruel and suggest some kind of fake break-up manipulation, but I'm honestly pretty certain that she'd just get the wrong kind of message out of that. I've only met one other person who's as stubborn as she can be.

text;

[heterochrocatic]

hey where r u???

[71lines]

Meditating under the Top Deck.

What's up?

[heterochrocatic]

Nothing, I just wanted to hang out a bit.

[ And true to her word, Catra makes an appearance, all flicking tail and bright eyes. ]

Hey.

[ She plops down to sit next to Tenten without waiting to be invited, sprawling in that particularly boneless fashion that cats everywhere seem to manage without much trouble. ]

[71lines]

[Tenten had moved to a slightly less shady area since the text, but with Catra coming, well. It wasn't like the other girl could walk on walls. She slits open an eye and smiles as Catra sprawls next to her.]

Congratulations with Adora catching up, by the way.

[It may sting, but that doesn't keep her from being genuinely pleased for the two of them.]

[heterochrocatic]

It's hoottttt....

[ Catra gripes amiably as she looks up at Tenten. She smiles, flashing fangs briefly. ]

It's good. I feel like I have both feet on the ground for the firs time in a while.

[ An ear tilts. ]

Thanks for being here for me during all this crap.

[71lines]

It's a desert, Catra! [She's laughing, though.] I can get us somewhere shadier, but we're technically not supposed to be there, I guess?

[Like either of them particularly cared about that, unless they got caught.]

It's no problem, really. Fight with Adora aside, I'm still friends with both of you. I was kind of hoping you'd work it out and she'd sweep you off your feet again.

[credit_not_blame]

[During this conversation.]

You got a few minutes free? I wanted to talk to you about something in person.

[71lines]

That's not my hair clogging the toilets, I don't know whose it is.

[credit_not_blame]

I was planning on blaming Kokichi for that anyway, ngl. This is something else. Something maybe fun!

[71lines]

Sure, then. I'm in the gym.

[When she's not mooning after Catra, she does tend to spend the rest of her time exercising.]

[credit_not_blame]

[There are really only so many places to spend time on the Rig, the gym is a pretty good one. Stacia slips on in and makes a beeline for Tenten, checking to make sure no one is in earshot before saying anything.]

I have a ninja question first-off: did your training include "this was definitely not a murder, just a sad accident" cover-ups?

[71lines]

[Well, there's an opener for you.]

Yeah? It's a bit harder, but I can manage it just fine, given the right setup.