PARADISA

[ There's the plinking of piano keys, a carefully practiced melody. It's still simplistic, but she's getting better. ]

I can take being turned into a little kid, and I can take having my waterbending swapped out for firebending-- but I hate when the castle messes with my mind.

[ It's idle grumping that you've heard a million times before, but welcome to it, Paradisa: she has no one else to grump to directly. ]

Would you guys rather drag your friends from home here or go home? 'Cause there's a lot about Paradisa that I like sometimes-- mostly the people-- but I'm less and less sure that the losses are worth it.

I feel like I haven't left my room in weeks. D'you guys think the castle has calmed down?

[ZUKO]

Hey. Talk to me.


[TOPH]

Let's wreck something.


[ZELOS]

It's been a while. What kind of trouble have you gotten into lately?

This has probably been asked a thousand times before, so, um - sorry for that pre-emptively, I guess. But I've been here over a year, and I've noticed as much as we're all alike in a lot of ways, there are a lot of little things, too, like -

Bending. So far, only people from my exact world seem to have any idea what bending is. And before you ask, it's the ability to control and manipulate the elements, I guess.. is the best way to put it. I'm a waterbender, and my friends Toph and Zuko are earth and firebenders.. bending is really, really important in our culture, and it's hard for me to even think about worlds where that's not the case.

Does anyone else have something like that? -- things unique to your own worlds, I mean. These little differences are really fascinating to me.

[ Katara is all business today. ]

How many people are here that you know of from your world? How long did it take them to get here? If you don't know of anyone from your world -- have you always been the only one here? What about family - does anyone have any family here?

Thanks!

So the guests we had during the festival -- one of them was Avatar Roku, a.. well, sort of celebrated hero from my world. Maybe - well. It's complicated. But he's still kind of a hero of legend, and I also kind of chickened out while he was here.

.. and I'm not entirely sure why I'm telling the whole castle this, either. [A small puff of irritation.] Just, um. If you have a chance at something here, I guess, don't chicken out and let it get away. I guess. Agh, I'm rambling worse than my brother.

[And, sounding slightly embarrassed, she shuts the journal.]