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[ Gotta learn not to be specific, buddy, at least not with your former-detective buddy.
Either way, Mako sends him back a single thumbs-up emoji (thank you, Wu, for teaching him that) and heads to get his coat on.
He doesn't actually need it. The cold, biting as it is, doesn't seem to affect him at all this month. It's more to cover the glowing cracks on his skin and hide the smoke than anything else. Mako isn't sure what they mean, but he's not focused enough on himself and his own state to try and find out. Better to ignore it and avoid questions and just work on salvaging the ships. Varian will find him waiting by the boardwalk with his scarf slung around his neck and his jacket open, looking down at a rough map he made of the wrecks visible from shore. Ordinarily, he'd look up when Varian gets close enough, but all that corruption has made him single-minded and so Mako just keeps staring at the map, trying to trace out a route in his own head. ]
Varian at least understands the emoji - mostly because he knows about them through Fern. Thanks, boyfriends.
But at least he and Mako are twinsies, when Varian finds him. The kid's wrapped himself up well, put his bandana over his face and his goggles over his eyes in an attempt to make it look like he isn't corrupted at all. It's a terrible disguise and likely works just as well as Mako's does. Varian opens his mouth under the bandana to ask about it, but asking questions about Mako's corruption will invite questions about his own.
So he's going to pretend he sees none of that and walks closer to Mako, raising a gloved hand in greeting. ]
[ Varian's bundled up, and that's all Mako cares about right now: it's cold out there on the ice, and his corruption is making him hover much more than usual, even as his eye skips over the sort of details he'd normally take in.
Instead, he flips his map around for Varian to see. ]
Figure that the closer wrecks have already been plundered, so we may as well use this as a guide for getting back to shore and try for the farther ones. You in?
[This is a much better thing to focus on and he comes across to peer down at it. He nods at Mako's explanation- makes perfect sense.]
Okay that's a good idea- we can use them as a pretty solid chain of landmarks - less chance of getting lost. [Neither of them are going to die of hypothermia out there, thanks coldblood, but they can sure get lost and starve. ]
I'm in, definitely. [He shifts his bag on his shoulders.] And this can hold just about anything without getting any extra weight. So we have plenty of room to store what we find.
[ Ordinarily Mako would probably ask about that bag, how it works and why, but he's entirely too focused on their task—blinders, getting thicker with each creeping bit of smoke curling from under his skin—and so he just nods, waving a hand for Varian to follow him down to the beach and out onto the sea ice. ]
Can't let our guard down getting out to the first one, and I want to see what you've been doing first. You said the ice was easier? Can you make a solid path for us?
[Varian, for once, would not be able to give him an answer even if he asked. It was Weird Magic Bullshit and no matter what tests Varian ran on it, he could never understand how it worked. He follows Mako, nodding quietly.]
Definitely not. Who knows what's out there?
[At the question, he chewed his lip, a little worried. This is definitely a step more than what he's used to, but he does need to get the practice in. He crouches by the tide once they get there.]
I can try? It probably won't be pretty, but I might be able to get something stable we can walk on.
[He hopes. He sucks in a breath, trying to concentrate. He was honest, though, this was a lot easier than the fire. Fire came to his fingers very quickly, but his control over it was minimal at best. The ice required a certain level of emotional calm- harder to come to but easier to maintain.]
Okay, c'mon, you can do this.
[His emotional state was not calm, not really, not with the corruption, but as he puts his hand to the waves and tries to focus those cool, solid feelings outwards, the water freezes underneath his fingers. He focuses further, trying to stretch it outwards, and a jagged, uneven ice path starts to form over the water- freezing waves in place as it goes. ]
[ Mako watches with a critical eye, though not as trained as the one, say, Korra might be able to offer. He's been working hard on his own ice skills, feeling out the differences between firebending and working with ice, trying to reconcile himself with cold and still rather than fast and uncontrolled.
Varian's attempt is pretty good. Not smooth, no, but solid. After a moment, as the ice stretches, Mako shifts into a solid stance beside him, his feet rooted to the ground, and starts moving. Bending, to him, is not a mental thing: it's all physical, pushing energy with energy. Instead of igniting that energy like he's used to, he's had to learn to sway with it, to drag water into a solid state. As he moves, his palms flat and his shoulders bunched, the water around Varian's path starts to solidify, melding it with the rest of the sea ice. The water this late is already half-frozen, liquid and slow; together they manage to make a path a good way out, and when nothing near them is moving, Mako smiles thinly. ]
[He appreciates Mako coming in to bend, too. He watches carefully, making mental notes of the movements his friend makes. What he has might not be bending, but he's learned by now the discipline helps an awful lot in the management of his abilities.
He smiles, it's tired and small, but it is there. ]
Pretty good? I guess? It definitely feels a little better than the fire does. [A beat.] ...No offence.
[ Mako snorts as he shifts back up to a proper stance and pushes a foot onto the edge of their little path. It holds, swaying very slightly with the movement of the water underneath, but it's solid. ]
You're fine. C'mon, let's test this. I ever tell you what a hard time Korra had with airbending?
[ Mako makes it out a couple careful steps onto the ice before he deems it safe enough to gesture for Varian to follow him. He should be even more careful, probably, but his impulse control is... low. ]
No, that makes sense. That's the main way you're used to interacting with fire, right? As an explosive force?
[Varian is a little slower to follow- he's got his prosthetic after all and while he tries to make sure there are better grips added to the foot, he still has to adjust to a different balance on the ice. So he wobbles a little, before starting to follow a little closer.]
Yeah, exactly. It's more natural for me for it to be like that. I've made ice alchemy bombs before now and they're...a lot like this. Steady. Simple.
[ It's hard to overcome a lifetime of conditioning, so while Mako's not hindered by anything, he moves slowly. Ice is still something he inherently doesn't quite trust, something alien that he shouldn't be able to feel (and yet). ]
Yeah. Fire's not your thing, and when it is your thing, it's this out-of-control thing. A lot of people feel that way. Can you... feel anything in the ice at all? Any kind of energy that you can control?
That's it, yeah. It's...I don't know. A lot wilder, I guess?
[Angry. That's how it really feels. Angry. It's an emotion he gets unsettled by, it's an emotion that's caused him so much trouble in the past when he indulged in it. He hums at the question. ]
I don't know, it doesn't feel the same as the fire. It's like...something seeping out of me? Like...tension or something? It's hard to describe.
[Mako would be right - Varian's connection with his powers is...tumultuous at best. He'd really rather not have any of it but the ice powers have been a surprisingly less awful experience than the fire. ]
I don't know, I feel a little better? I've been having some uh... troubles lately. [This is skirting close to admitting the corruption exists while they're not doing that.] It doesn't feel all the way great, but like...a little pressure has got out.
Like- like letting some air escape a pressurised container? Just a little.
That kind of makes sense, if Varian is channeling any of the sort of energy that Mako is when he bends. The energy in ice is hard for him: solid, slow to change,, slippery compared to the quick-catch of fire. ]
It's been a tough month.
[ He says, quiet, with only Varian and the creaking ice to hear him. They're skirting very close to things neither of them want to talk about, and Mako turns his face into the wind, frowning at it. ]
[He looks at his gloved hands, knowing claws are growing there, knowing his skin is rocky and hard underneath. He knows that and he also knows the pressure in his own head is growing. HIs hallucinations are getting worse, if he lets his mind wander too much, the amber starts to grow, even if he knows it's not really there.]
I- I don't know. I've- [he hugs his arms around himself] I've not been feeling great lately. I think it's lots of little things just piling up.
[ Mako agrees, quietly, listening to the groan of ice. It's quiet for a long, long moment until Mako, through his own hazy thoughts and the strange burn of his skin, remembers something. ]
[That's a lie, that's a blatant lie. He's spoken to Dipper. He knows what the key is to keep the corruption at bay and still he tries to fight on alone.]
I...I don't want to give you more to worry about. You've got enough, too, right?
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droptheious) wrote2021-06-20 12:39 am
 "un/finished")
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cawaii
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But fine, fine, I'll meet you by the docks and I won't have any bombs in my hands.
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[ HE SEES U VARIAN ]
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2/2
[Yes he was. ]
I'll see you soon. Without any bombs. At all.
--> action
Either way, Mako sends him back a single thumbs-up emoji (thank you, Wu, for teaching him that) and heads to get his coat on.
He doesn't actually need it. The cold, biting as it is, doesn't seem to affect him at all this month. It's more to cover the glowing cracks on his skin and hide the smoke than anything else. Mako isn't sure what they mean, but he's not focused enough on himself and his own state to try and find out. Better to ignore it and avoid questions and just work on salvaging the ships. Varian will find him waiting by the boardwalk with his scarf slung around his neck and his jacket open, looking down at a rough map he made of the wrecks visible from shore. Ordinarily, he'd look up when Varian gets close enough, but all that corruption has made him single-minded and so Mako just keeps staring at the map, trying to trace out a route in his own head. ]
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Varian at least understands the emoji - mostly because he knows about them through Fern. Thanks, boyfriends.
But at least he and Mako are twinsies, when Varian finds him. The kid's wrapped himself up well, put his bandana over his face and his goggles over his eyes in an attempt to make it look like he isn't corrupted at all. It's a terrible disguise and likely works just as well as Mako's does. Varian opens his mouth under the bandana to ask about it, but asking questions about Mako's corruption will invite questions about his own.
So he's going to pretend he sees none of that and walks closer to Mako, raising a gloved hand in greeting. ]
Hey. You got a map.
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[ Varian's bundled up, and that's all Mako cares about right now: it's cold out there on the ice, and his corruption is making him hover much more than usual, even as his eye skips over the sort of details he'd normally take in.
Instead, he flips his map around for Varian to see. ]
Figure that the closer wrecks have already been plundered, so we may as well use this as a guide for getting back to shore and try for the farther ones. You in?
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[This is a much better thing to focus on and he comes across to peer down at it. He nods at Mako's explanation- makes perfect sense.]
Okay that's a good idea- we can use them as a pretty solid chain of landmarks - less chance of getting lost. [Neither of them are going to die of hypothermia out there, thanks coldblood, but they can sure get lost and starve. ]
I'm in, definitely. [He shifts his bag on his shoulders.] And this can hold just about anything without getting any extra weight. So we have plenty of room to store what we find.
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Can't let our guard down getting out to the first one, and I want to see what you've been doing first. You said the ice was easier? Can you make a solid path for us?
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Definitely not. Who knows what's out there?
[At the question, he chewed his lip, a little worried. This is definitely a step more than what he's used to, but he does need to get the practice in. He crouches by the tide once they get there.]
I can try? It probably won't be pretty, but I might be able to get something stable we can walk on.
[He hopes. He sucks in a breath, trying to concentrate. He was honest, though, this was a lot easier than the fire. Fire came to his fingers very quickly, but his control over it was minimal at best. The ice required a certain level of emotional calm- harder to come to but easier to maintain.]
Okay, c'mon, you can do this.
[His emotional state was not calm, not really, not with the corruption, but as he puts his hand to the waves and tries to focus those cool, solid feelings outwards, the water freezes underneath his fingers. He focuses further, trying to stretch it outwards, and a jagged, uneven ice path starts to form over the water- freezing waves in place as it goes. ]
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Varian's attempt is pretty good. Not smooth, no, but solid. After a moment, as the ice stretches, Mako shifts into a solid stance beside him, his feet rooted to the ground, and starts moving. Bending, to him, is not a mental thing: it's all physical, pushing energy with energy. Instead of igniting that energy like he's used to, he's had to learn to sway with it, to drag water into a solid state. As he moves, his palms flat and his shoulders bunched, the water around Varian's path starts to solidify, melding it with the rest of the sea ice. The water this late is already half-frozen, liquid and slow; together they manage to make a path a good way out, and when nothing near them is moving, Mako smiles thinly. ]
How'd that feel?
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He smiles, it's tired and small, but it is there. ]
Pretty good? I guess? It definitely feels a little better than the fire does. [A beat.] ...No offence.
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You're fine. C'mon, let's test this. I ever tell you what a hard time Korra had with airbending?
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[He definitely remembers Mako mentioning that.]
So I guess maybe it's that sort of thing for me? Which is funny because I make explosions happen a lot. You'd think I'd be more comfortable with fire.
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No, that makes sense. That's the main way you're used to interacting with fire, right? As an explosive force?
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Yeah, exactly. It's more natural for me for it to be like that. I've made ice alchemy bombs before now and they're...a lot like this. Steady. Simple.
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Yeah. Fire's not your thing, and when it is your thing, it's this out-of-control thing. A lot of people feel that way. Can you... feel anything in the ice at all? Any kind of energy that you can control?
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[Angry. That's how it really feels. Angry. It's an emotion he gets unsettled by, it's an emotion that's caused him so much trouble in the past when he indulged in it. He hums at the question. ]
I don't know, it doesn't feel the same as the fire. It's like...something seeping out of me? Like...tension or something? It's hard to describe.
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...huh. Tell me more about that. What does it feel like right now?
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I don't know, I feel a little better? I've been having some uh... troubles lately. [This is skirting close to admitting the corruption exists while they're not doing that.] It doesn't feel all the way great, but like...a little pressure has got out.
Like- like letting some air escape a pressurised container? Just a little.
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That kind of makes sense, if Varian is channeling any of the sort of energy that Mako is when he bends. The energy in ice is hard for him: solid, slow to change,, slippery compared to the quick-catch of fire. ]
It's been a tough month.
[ He says, quiet, with only Varian and the creaking ice to hear him. They're skirting very close to things neither of them want to talk about, and Mako turns his face into the wind, frowning at it. ]
Does that pressure come from anything?
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[He looks at his gloved hands, knowing claws are growing there, knowing his skin is rocky and hard underneath. He knows that and he also knows the pressure in his own head is growing. HIs hallucinations are getting worse, if he lets his mind wander too much, the amber starts to grow, even if he knows it's not really there.]
I- I don't know. I've- [he hugs his arms around himself] I've not been feeling great lately. I think it's lots of little things just piling up.
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[ Mako agrees, quietly, listening to the groan of ice. It's quiet for a long, long moment until Mako, through his own hazy thoughts and the strange burn of his skin, remembers something. ]
You, uh. Want to talk about it?
[ Varian absolutely does not have to say yes. ]
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[That's a lie, that's a blatant lie. He's spoken to Dipper. He knows what the key is to keep the corruption at bay and still he tries to fight on alone.]
I...I don't want to give you more to worry about. You've got enough, too, right?