Springtime Harvest

[mikangirl]

Who: mikangirl, threeswordsoul, their immediate families by demand, their extended families, friends, and orchard workers by invite. (That's... a lot of people >_>a)
What: Mikan harvest!
When: All day, 24th April
Where: Nami and Zoro's fictional mikan orchard on the outskirts of town.
Summary: It's that time of year again in which the household sneakily gathers free

Comments

[threeswordsoul]

[Zuko has lucked out; Katara's son comes across her after the two have already separated, while she's...on her knees, combing the grass? :|a Zoro pads up and drops into a crouch beside her.]

...Lose something?

[markofthebrave]

[Katara glances up at his approach. Her muttered greeting is not exactly what Zoro would have come to expect from Katara at all, let alone the first time she saw her son.] Shit.

[She has enough time to take a breath between when she looks up and sees him and when he crouches down beside her, enough to control her tone of voice so she'll at least be able to sound in control and confident, even if Zoro is the last person she wants to see right now with her dad being a close second. It's not enough time, however, to smooth out the wrinkle of worry and concern on her forehead or calm the upset in her eyes. It shouldn't take much more than the movement of her head for the reason to become apparent. There is no gleam of silver at her ear.]

The clasp on my earring must have broken.

[threeswordsoul]

[Zoro's brow furrows instantly when he sees it's missing.] --Aah. [That's really not good.

He stands and scans the ground in the immediate area right away, his own earring glinting at his ear.] Do you know if you still had it when you got here?

[markofthebrave]

Of course I still had it!

[Stop that. Deep breath. Snapping at Zoro won't help.]

I know I was wearing it around here. We'll find it. If worse comes to worst, we can get Toph to help.

[She wants to cry. Where is it?]

[threeswordsoul]

[She's right. If it has to come down to Toph, they will find it...but that's pretty cold comfort against pain when the precious keepsake from her mother is lost right now.]

Yeah.

[Zoro hesitates, then reaches up and takes off the twin to Katara's missing earring, presses it into her hand.]

Hold onto that for me until then. ...I'll look over here.

[markofthebrave]

[The connection to her mother is only part of what is upsetting Katara right now - the far larger part is the connection to her son. It's part of the binding knot she wove to make them a family, and for her part to be missing it just tears her up inside. That's why she almost snaps at him to put the earring back in. It's his, she gave it to him, and they will find it, so there's no reason to be dramatic...

...but her hand curls around it instead, heart warming not at the reassurance, but that Zoro would be confident enough to take it off and offer reassurance.]

All right. Just don't get lost over there. You have to come back and claim it.

[This is the way we troll ourselves free from breaking down. See? She's fiiiine.]

[threeswordsoul]

[Good thing she took it, because Zoro completely assumes that all of the sentimental value of the earring comes from it belonging to Katara's mother. >_>a

He's glad that seemed to work somewhat, though, and his mouth pulls into a half-smile before he scoffs lightly.]

'Course. You don't get to keep it. That one's mine.

[markofthebrave]

[Her hand curls over it and she speaks quietly:] Damn straight it is.

[A breath, and she gets back to looking on the ground, still holding the earring.]

[threeswordsoul]

Heh.

[Smiling more fully, then turning to do the same.]

[markofthebrave]

[Searching in silence for a while is go, then! So far, nothing has caught Katara's eye...

Having any more luck over there, Zoro?]

[threeswordsoul]

[Unfortunately n-wait. Zoro's eye is caught by the glint of something half-hidden under a leaf.]

Oi, is that-?

[markofthebrave]

[Katara glances over at him.]

Do you see something?

[threeswordsoul]

[He walks over and bends to snag one (1) earring out of the grass. :)a]

Something.

[markofthebrave]

[Happy gasp!]

You found it?

[And she stands and rushes over.] Let me see?