video; un:mako

[arclightning]

Uh, hey. Mako here.

[ Nailing it so far, right? Mako's standing in front of a half-blue, half-green wall, dotted with small lunar sconces. Everything looks kind of dusty and half-finished, and the watery afternoon light illuminates yet more dust drifting around him.

Notably, a small dragon, red-scaled and content, is draped over his shoulders like a scarf, watching the Omni with bright eyes.

Mako glances momentarily off the screen, mouths something, and then looks back, clearing his throat. ]

It's come to my attention that a lot of you have been setting things on fire left and right since we washed up here. Obviously, this is dangerous to you and the people around you. If that's you, you need to make an effort to control it immediately before something worse than singeing your clothes happens.

For those of you who just washed up, I'm a firebender. That means I can do—

[ He holds up his left hand (scarred with strange marks) in front of himself and splays his fingers, making a small puff of fire appear and hold over his palm. It flickers there like a candle flame, dancing between Mako's fingers, before he drags it in a small arc and lets it go out. ]

—that, and—

[ Another flick of his fingers, this time producing little purple-bright sparks that zap between the tips and then dissipate. ]

—that. And a lot more.

So. If you need help learning to control your powers, and you do, come to the Raccoon Room in Cellar Door on Wednesdays. You'll see the sign. I've been doing this since I was a kid. Anyone else who wants to help, feel free to drop by too.

[ Finally, he looks up, his serious expression dropping just slightly. ]

Trust me. If a bunch of snotty six-year-olds back home can learn how to do it, you can.

[ The little dragon huffs in agreement, fire puffing out of its nose, and Mako reaches forward to cut the feed. ]

Comments

[arclightning]

[ It's alright, Yuri, Mako's doing the exact same thing. He froze his own tea that morning, lifted the cup to his lips, and promptly dropped an entire frozen tea-sicle on his own face.

It was a whole thing. At least it made Wu laugh.

He's glad that he can at least still bend like he's supposed to, that he can feel the push and pull and crackle of the flames like always. It's a tiny comfort in a world that feels strange and alien and oppressive all at once.

It's also very good to see Yuri, who he last saw being swept away by dark waves. Mako flashes him a little smile, straightening up properly. ]

Yeah, you too. Got attacked by some crabs, but I made it.

[ He waves a hand for Yuri to come closer, into the little ring he set up. It looks like a pro-bending arena sketched out on the ground. ]

You done any experimenting since the ship?

[vibing]

[ Yuri looks around the ring, and the little bird on his shoulder lets out a cry and takes off. Yuri winces when Smokey's talons dig into his skin. He's going to need to talk to the bird about that. So rude.

He heads over, a hand on his hip, his sword dangling from his other hand. Seems weird to learn without it, since he doesn't plan on just doing cool kicks like Mako was. ]

Hey, me too. Those crabs tasted pretty good, though.

[ He cooked some of the crab he and Fern brought back. Maybe it was a dumb idea, but it did taste good. It's just crab, but bigger ]

Yeah, tried to. Seems like I'm better at the ice than the fire.

[ Maybe because you're cold hearted, Judy's voice echoes in his head. Maybe he is. He shakes his head. ]

But I thought it can't hurt to learn how to use it all, right?

[arclightning]

[ So many more animals here than there were in Deerington. Mako watches the bird for a moment, wondering if it came from Yuri like Zuko's part of him. They seem to be making friends in the air, anyway, and that's... kind of cute.

Not the important thing, though. The important thing is that Yuri is here for training, or something like it, and that means Mako has to focus. He gathers himself and his thoughts up in a neat bundle, drawing everything in with a breath, and meets Yuri's eyes. ]

Yeah. Like I said: fire's dangerous when it's out of control. I'm still learning the ropes of the ice stuff, but if you're worse at the fire, you need to learn how to use it. At the very least how to put it out. What d'you know, so far? How do you use it? Any patterns?

[vibing]

[ That's pretty cute. Smokey and a dragon, not a bad combo. Yuri smiles just a little before turning his attention back to Mako ]

Right. I was testing it out and I can do all sorts of fire artes I never could before. And I can punch with fire, but the ice is a lot easier.

[ He tosses a punch, but instead of fire, his fist forms a hard shell of ice and since he's just punching the air it soft of just stays, his hand encased in ice hanging at the end of the punch. He shakes his hand out, trying to rid it of the ice, but that doesn't work either.

With a growl, he goes over to the wall of the town houses and slams his hand into it, and the ice finally breaks. ]

Yeah. That's what's happening.

[arclightning]

[ Mako watches this very familiar display with a strange sense of kinship, because yeah: he's been doing almost the same thing, icing things over without meaning to. The ice shatters from around Yuri's fist, and Mako offers him something like a sympathetic grin. ]

Froze my tea this morning, and yesterday when I was trying to fix the lights the ladder froze underneath me. I can't find a pattern to it either, it just... happens.

[ He gets you, Yuri. It is weirdly helpful that he's not the only one struggling with this. ]

Maybe the punching's not your thing. What's an arte? That your world's version of magic?

[vibing]

Yeah. It's damn annoying.

[ Yuri sighs, turning back to Mako with his arms crossed, sword dangling from his hand ]

I'm pretty good hand-to-hand, but it's the damn ice! Yeah, artes are like magic. I use magic, mana, to do them, now.

[ He sizes up the ring Mako's sketched out, then waves Mako back. He tosses his sword up in the air, catches the hilt and the throws the sheath away. Poor sheath, it didn't deserve this.

Once Mako's clears off, Yuri bounces a little on his toes, gathering up the mana he can feel coursing through him, and leaps up in the air, shouting out "Destruction field!" as he slams his sword down into the ground, a ring of hot fire rippling around him. ]

[arclightning]

[ That, Mako figures as he backs up just a little more away from the radiating heat, must be an arte.

It's got to be the same principle: flames and energy from nowhere, but channeled through Yuri's sword instead of his hands and feet, focused into a very specific kind of—he doesn't know what he's talking about. Lysithea would probably know what was happening here. ]

Impressive. That looked pretty controlled.

[ The fire fades, leaving only scorched ground in a neat circle, and Mako steps a little closer again. ]

Thing is, your power is probably pretty different from bending. No idea how I'm going to teach anyone to control this if it's different for every person. Can you feel the fire at all when you do that?

[vibing]

[ Yuri tosses his sword, catching it again easily, his other hand hooked on his hip. ]

I guess so. Before, I felt the magic, the aer. Now... maybe it is the fire. My fire artes have been way more powerful, and I learned some new ones too that I could never do before. It's pretty weird, but, hell. Maybe it is the weird blood power.

Alright, so lets say I can feel it. What then?

[arclightning]

[ Kind of a show-off. Mako senses a kindred spirit, bites down on a grin as he launches into a more complicated little spin-kick that sends an arc of controlled fire toward the sky. ]

That feeling's your best bet for controlling it. The ice, too, if that's how your magic works. The better handle you get on what it feels like when you're using it, the less you'll be taken by surprise when it comes out of nowhere. Eventually, that'll stop happening. Especially if you're naturally pretty powerful, that's where you'll want to start.

[vibing]

Damn. Nice.

[ He is pretty impressed. He wants to be able to do that. His hand-to-hand and kicks are all self taught, really. What he wasn't supposed to be doing. ]

Right, okay. So I hold onto that feeling and try to control it. I can do that.

[ Maybe that's arrogant, but he is pretty good at this stuff. ]

Hey, show me that again?

[arclightning]

The kick?

[ Mako's kind of pleasantly surprised—maybe Yuri could be a training buddy, if he picks it up quick enough. He's happy to oblige, anyway, maybe putting a little bit more of a spin into it this time, rotating his body to build up the power and send the fire higher and hotter in a billow rather than a stream. It feels good to let it out, burns off some of his nervous energy, and he lands a few feet closer to Yuri with a grin. ]

Might work different for you. For me—for any bender—you can't bend without your body. You're just pushing and pulling and igniting energy that's already there.

[vibing]

Yeah, yeah. I think I get it.

[ Yuri replays the move in his head, then takes a few steps back before launching himself in the air, spinning as flames come off his foot. It feels so good to use his body like this, to challenge himself, to get to kick and have flames gush off of his foot, streaming in a way that's actually kind of beautiful

It's not perfect, but it's not bad for a first attempt. He lands neatly with a laugh. ]

Hell yeah! Man, that felt great.

[arclightning]

You're a quick study.

[ Mako flashes Yuri another smile, more real this time, and then shifts forward to correct his form: more power here, focus on the edge of your foot and the leading edge of the flames. Trace the path with your body, and the fire will follow in the wake of your energy.

It's actually kind of fun, teaching someone. Especially because Yuri's such a quick study. Especially because Mako can demonstrate, and surprise himself with the depth of his own knowledge, at least until he's demonstrating a more advanced move, showing Yuri how he could potentially channel lightning, only to wind up freezing his own hand. ]

Wh—come on.