Polar Opposites

* :( Freedom (kind of)

Zokkik wouldn't let Elodie out of the healer's room for another week and a half. He wanted to make sure that she was completely healed and have most of her strength back before letting her roam around the deck of the ship. Even though it was annoying and boring for her, she knew it was good for her because she had been stumbling around the healer's room for that week and a half. Most of her days consisted of sitting on the edge of the bed watching Zokkik work, talking with the healer, or reading the few books and scrolls he allowed her to read. Elodie really enjoyed learning about the different plants, medicines, and Water Tribe culture, but she was going stir crazy. So, when Zokkik told her that she could venture out onto the ship's deck, with him tagging along, she was very excited and was waiting beside the door for him. She didn't know if he had to be with her because he was worried about her health, or if the chief wanted to make sure she didn't do anything suspicious.

Elodie was very eager to leave the healer's room for the first time (well the first time she was in her right mind). She was standing by the door, trying to get the older man to hurry up. He was taking his sweet time writing some report, and she knew he was purposely writing slow just to annoy her. They had become quite close during her stay in the healer's room, so he knew how impatient she could be at times. She finally had enough of his antics when she realized that he had started doodling instead of actually writing the report. She stomped over to him and started to (try to) pull him out od his chair, "Come on, Zokkik! I know you're not even writing anymore!" The man laughed and got out of his chair, "Ok ok. We'll go now." Elodie smiled triumphantly when she got the man to move towards the door. She wanted nothing more than to get some fresh air and sunlight. Zokkik offered her his arm, which she took, and they both walked out onto the deck.

Elodie winced when the bright sun hit her eyes and the strong smell of the sea flooded her nose. It was all a bit too much, but she had whined so much to Zokkik about staying in the room that she couldn't admit it. When her eyes adjusted to the light, the first thing she saw was the beautiful, sparkling ocean. The second thing she saw was lots of blue eyes on her. She looked around and there were at least 15 men on deck, and there was probably more below. She smiled sheepishly at everyone and felt self-conscious from all of the staring. Her hair was a dirty, hot mess, her clothes were rolled up and tied back with some ponytails she had in her purse, and she was bare-footed. They had no clothes or shoes that were small enough for her, so even when she rolled up the pants, they were still too long, and the shirt hung off of her shoulder and went down to her knees.

She jumped when there was a booming voice behind her calling out for everyone to get back to work. She turned around and smiled when she saw that it was Hakoda. She said cheekily, "Hey Chief." He smiled back and said, "Hello Elodie. How are you feeling?" She answered, "I'm feeling pretty good. I'm almost fully healed and ready to work!" Hakoda seemed taken aback by her last statement and Zokkik shook his head, "Elodie, I already told you that I don't think you should be working yet. Your outer wounds may have healed, but I'm still worried about the internal injuries you have." Elodie sighed and said, "I'm sure there's something I can do that won't danger my healing. Right chief?" Hakoda looked in between Zokkik and Elodie, almost not wanting to get into their little quarrel. It almost seemed as if it was a father and daughter fighting, but he answered, "I'm sure we can find you something to do, but it has to be approved by Zokkik." Elodie and Zokkik both nodded, liking that compromise. The healer spoke, "She doesn't need to anything where she would have to strain to see since that might make her head injury worse and nothing physically strenuous." Elodie looked over at him with a 'really' look on her face, "Then what can I do, Zokkik?" Hakoda could tell the two were going to start bickering again, so he intervened, "How about you start off with making sure everyone's hydrated. A heatwave just started and some men can't take the time to get water during their shift. You can go around asking who needs water and you can get to know everybody that way. Does that sound ok?" It wasn't exactly what Elodie wanted, but she knew she wasn't going to get anything better, so both of them nodded.

Hakoda wanted to let out a sigh of relief, but he held it in. He told Elodie, "You'll start tomorrow." She nodded with a smile and Zokkik said, "I'll give her a tour of the ship." Hakoda watched them leave, well more like watched Elodie leave, before shaking his head and walking to his cabin.

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Elodie was shown around only some parts of the ship like the kitchen, bunk room, and where some things were located. She knew that she wasn't completely trusted yet, so that's why she wasn't shown the important stuff like where the weapons were kept. She understood why she wasn't trusted yet. She randomly showed up in the middle of the freezing ocean and had no relocation of where she was from (as far as they knew). So yeah, she was pretty suspicious.

After their small tour, Zokkik and Elodie went back to the healer's room. As much as she hated it, her body was still not used to walking around that much, so she felt pretty tired. Zokkik strongly encouraged/forced her to rest while threatening to take her job away if she didn't. She was just going to lay down for a bit to please him, but she ended up falling asleep for a couple of hours instead.

She was awoken by Zokkik gently touching her head. That's how he always woke her up. It started off by him checking her temperature when she slept since he checked it every couple hours and it evolved into what it is now. Elodie's eyes slowly opened when she felt Zokkik's rough hand on her head. She yawned and sat up while rubbing her eyes. She giggled softly and said, "I guess I fell asleep..." Zokkik gave her an 'I-told-you-you-were-tired' look and Elodie smiled at him. He gestured to the door, "Come on, sleepy. It's dinner time." Elodie slid off the bed and stretched while making a small noise, "I get to eat with the crew tonight?" Zokkik nodded and led her out of the healer's room and onto the deck.

There were a lot of men dressed in blue on the deck, maybe twice as many as she saw before. Zokkik gently grabbed her arm and said, "You can sit by me." She nodded and let Zokkik take her to where he was going to sit. Most of the men were sitting on benches or stool, but the younger ones were simply sitting on the floor. There was only one stool left so Zokkik said, "You can sit there Elodie and I'll steal someone else's seat. She giggled and said, "That's ok. I'll just sit on the floor." She sat in front and to the side of Zokkik and beside some of the younger men. She smiled at them and they smiled back shyly before looking away. Everyone else had food, so Zokkik went to get theirs. Elodie sat in awkward silence until Zokkik came back with their food. Hakoda was walking beside him and Elodie smiled at him softly. He smiled back and Zokkik handed her the food. She thanked him before Hakoda cleared his throat, "Everyone, I have an announcement." One of the young men, who seem familiar to Elodie, said playfully, "Why so formal chief? Is it because we have a guest?" Hakoda broke into a small smile, but ignored the man's words, "Y'all have probably noticed that there's an extra person on the ship." He gestured to the red-head, "This is Elodie. She will be staying with us, so show her Southern Water Tribe hospitality. You can go back to eating now."

Elodie started eating, sadly, getting used to the salty food they always served. After they ate, Elodie was allowed to stay to hear some of the stories that were being told after dinner before Zokkik making her go lay down. He was worried she was going to strain herself, which thought was ridiculous. But, she listened to him anyways and went to bed.

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*I changed Eleanor's name to Elodie, so please tell me if I missed changing it somewhere.