normal doesn't exist

[It felt like the village was at a complete standstill since the draft ended, and that was to be expected. There were a few new arrivals, sure, and there was that play that the two girls did, and that was adorable... But what everyone had come back from was horrifying, and Teddy wasn't even in the worst part of it.

That's not to say he didn't suffer. But he feels like he shouldn't talk much about it, though doing so with Billy helped immensely. He's determined to get through life accordingly, do everything he's schedule to do without a problem, be a strong and happy face for people to see. The news just keeps coming when he - or, rather, Tommy runs into him and tells him that a certain someone left. When he leads, Teddy tries to contact her a few times, but with no luck. He takes a moment for that to sink in, lips pressed in a thin line, before he turns the journal more public, turning the video on to show his somber face.]

So... Kate Bishop went back to New York. She's pretty much the most amazing person anyone could know, and the best kicker of all things butt. ... It's not going to be the same without her around.

[And yes, it's sad that Kate went back, that he won't be seeing a friend of his for... he's not sure how long it'll be. But New York is her home, and her place was fighting crime alongside the Young Avengers. And Luceti has proven itself to be a horrible place to live.

So with a sigh, Teddy turns off the journal.]

[By the fountain, he strums lightly on the guitar, playing nothing in particular. He's deep in thought, and the movement of his fingers helps him focus. About Billy, everything that he told him about what's been going on after the draft, with the nightmares and the food tasting like rot and everything. About the draft, how he had to watch people die, how field medicine worked but didn't seem to be fast enough in a place like this. About Katniss, how he'd never have a jam session like this again, how she was going back to a world of survival of the fittest, and...

And, with a twang, Teddy looks down and realizes that he stroke the strings too hard, all five of them snapped and hanging at the end.

... So much for doing things without a problem. Knowing that this isn't going to work, Teddy places the broken guitar against the wall of the smithy (he... never really considered the guitar his anyway), shifts his larger set of wings, and flies to the Battledome to let out some of the frustration and anger that he felt building up.]

[Later on in the day, he decides to finally visit the art gallery that he'd been avoiding since the draft ended. As he thought, it's dusty, and that makes him feel a twinge of guilt. He's just getting on fixing that – polishing the frames and cleaning the glass – when it happens. The whole place just disappears, making Teddy let out a surprised sound as he falls a few inches to the ground, where he ends up stumbling on his feet.

...

What?

Again, he takes out his journal, wide-eyed and slightly flushed.]



Okay, um – Potts' Art Gallery? Just disappeared. And the paintings with it too. If anyone can tell me why this just happened, that'd be great.

[He kind of feels like he's in so much trouble, even though it's not his fault in the slightest.]