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

video | un: diggs

[justoscar]

Whoa!

[Oscar was immediately pressed to the screen upon the display, hazel eyes round and wide with astonishment-- a tiny peryton with spindly legs, mottled coat, and equally wide eyes perched delicately upon his shoulder likewise staring into the feed.]

That's the first time I've seen you do that kinda thing, I think. Do you mind if we send Ruby your way? She kinda keeps setting herself on fire.

[onekindsoul]

[Can be seen in the background. Still very much on fire.]

Oh my gosh, Oscar!

I’m working on it!

[justoscar]

But it's dangerous to be doing that all the time!

[He called back, throwing a blanket at Ruby from the sofa.]

We only have so many blankets, and it's probably doing bad things to your Aura!

[onekindsoul]

[Oh great. Now the blanket’s on fire too!

She’s blinded by it hitting her in the face and she ends up tripping over something and landing on a throw rug. Now it’s on fire too. But only a little fire because she manages to put herself out.]

I think it is my aura! Which is what makes this like super awkward to deal with!

[justoscar]

B-but!!

[Watching the entire display was alarming, and Oscar had already gotten up to grab the bag of flour he had started keeping on hand by the time Ruby got control of herself.]

You're better trained with Aura than I am. Is this really that different?

[He sighed, clearly frustrated.]

We might need to bring Fox in here to help us troubleshoot.

[onekindsoul]

[She kind of rubs at the side of her head awkardly.]

Kind of- Sorta- It's complicated.

My aura's usually a shield- right? How would you feel if something that was like meant to protect you suddenly was like- a blaze of fire?

It's weird-

I'm totally not used to it.

But talking to Fox doesn't sound like a bad idea.

[justoscar]

[Oscar just sat on the floor awkwardly, hands tightly gripping the blankets just as worry gripped at him.]

That's so weird. Your Aura can't just betray you like that... can it?

[It was counter to everything he understood about how magic and auras and semblances worked in Remnant. He shook his head.]

Fox might be one of the better people to help. He can do things with Aura that most from Remnant can't.

[onekindsoul]

It shouldn't I don't think so anyways.

But I think it's been warped- Kind of like it was in Deerington but diffent.

I think it's protecting me in another way now. The fire and that doesn't hurt me but it definitely gets everything around me.

[Kind of wondered if it was anything like Yang's semblance but once again it was definitely not the same.]

Yeah. Well maybe we should give him a call- Mako knows a lot about fire too- I can always try asking him.

[justoscar]

But, Auras aren't supposed to affect the environment negatively like that... right.

[Even the Maidens seemed to have pristine control of their elemental powers. Oscar, with his limited real world experience, had never seen or heard of anything like what Ruby was describing.]

Mako was gonna be the next guy on the list anyway. Fire is his specialty, and he's got a good way of not making people feel bad for having trouble.

[onekindsoul]

I mean it can be used offensively- It's just not this easy to do.

Or it could be like Uncle Qrow's semblance- But you know. Kind of better or worse?

[Well as far as Ruby was aware this was a special case herself.]

Yeah- Could be the 24/7 poker face. Hard to tell. He's probably going to be who I go to.

[justoscar]

[Oscar made a worried sound. Qrow's semblance seemed like it was the sort that couldn't be controlled easily, and was a far cry from anything Ruby ever did.]

Elemental aspects usually aren't so unpredictable, though...

[He thought of Nora. He though of what he knew of the Maidens. This was too difficult to even guess.]

Going to Mako's a good idea. Maybe I'll go too, to see if there's anything anyone else in the house can do to help you.

[onekindsoul]

I know, I know.
But we're in uncharted territory here.
I don't think anyones semblance has ever been changed quite like mine has- or anyone else who showed up here.

We're not really dealing with how things work a home. It's Deer-Or I guess Trench logic now.

[She'd had to deal with one warp to her powers- This was getting thrown through it all over again.]

That'd be great. You can always chip me out if I end up on ice all over again.

[justoscar]

As a friend put it: we're Trenchies now.

[He beamed, just glad that Ruby was in good spirits over all this.]

I'll chip you out any time. Maybe even peck you free with my beak! I can still turn into an owl-- so, it's not all bad.

We've got this.

[arclightning]

[ Mako grins a little at the praise. He also goes a bit flushed, which looks... different. Now. Mostly because rather than their usual pink, his cheeks go a pale sort of blue. ]

Don't be too impressed. You want a real demonstration, come with Ruby on Wednesday. That'll be real bending.

Definitely send her my way. How often is it happening? You still doing alright?

[justoscar]

She...

Kinda just set the blanket I threw at her to smother the flames on fire.

And the rug is on fire too. This...

[He shook his head, already getting up.]

This is a mess!

[arclightning]

[ Wow yeah okay that is... definitely a mess. Mako winces in something like sympathy. ]

Guess I could hold an earlier session just for Ruby. You... might want to get out of the house.

[justoscar]

[Oscar just gives Mako a tired, desperate look. This was way above his paygrade, and he had access to the memories of hundreds if not thousands of Wizard Lifetimes.

Yay Not!Avatar Life.]

I'll let the others know, too. Oz, Ange, and Willow are all pretty powerful normally, but we've all had our everything messed with. Fire is not what we planned for.

[arclightning]

I don't think anybody planned for this. Nobody could have. Even with all that work—there was no way to know what was coming for us.

[ As bitter as Mako sounds and feels about that. As much as he hates to admit it. ]

I wouldn't have predicted the squid thing or the power thing, at least. Do you know what your blood is doing?

[justoscar]

Not entirely, not yet.

[Oscar cast Mako a somewhat worried and frustrated look.]

It seems to look normal, but it turns a milky gold color in the moonlight. I also haven't been dreaming, I don't think. It's weird.

Though, it's still better than accidentally setting myself on fire.

[arclightning]

So whatever it is, it's not normal but it isn't noticeably affecting your life. Yet.

[ That would frustrate Mako too, the lack of answers. Maybe he's lucky his blood is a clear-cut case of cause and effect. ]

Keep an eye on it and let me know if it does cause anything strange, alright? You said it looks normal out of moonlight?

[justoscar]

Yeah. It's really weird!

[He was no expert, but he had access to the memories of lifetimes spent as doctors and researchers. Although he chose not to go deep enough to understand, he knew enough to know what normal looked like.]

I'm planning on giving some samples to people with labs and know what kind of things to look for. Maybe they'll come up with something?

[arclightning]

Good idea. Any information we can get on how this world works. There's...

[ There it is. The thing keeping Mako up at night, the reason for the bags under his eyes, he's pretty sure, and the tight set to his mouth. ]

We have a lot to learn. Same thing as the firebending: we have to do it fast. We're at a huge disadvantage until we can figure out how this place works.

[justoscar]

[Oscar heard more commotion on the other side of the house that signalled Ruby having another fiery crisis, and he chose to ignore it for that moment. Ruby could handle it-- her Aura didn't seem to want to hurt her, after all. They were already repairing the house, what were a few more in the long run?

Instead, he sighed and levelled an uncanny look of understanding on Mako.]

Oh, I know. A lot of people are already taking notes, so we can fill that gap as quickly as possible. People like you and me... we're not the science-y, research-y types. At least, not like that.

We do more practical things.

[arclightning]

[ Oscar, at least, gets it. Mako lets out a little sigh, more than he'd probably do around someone else, and shoves a hand into his hair, leaning on the table. ]

Yeah, I get that. I'm in over my head with the research stuff. Don't know how they do it. How's the farm school thing going? You made any progress with this place's weird dirt?

[justoscar]

[That was one of his stranger traits. It was that same inherent understanding of people that had even the famed General Ironwood dropping his guard around a boy who was quite literally half his height... and, sometimes, Oscar didn't quite know what to do with this.]

Not quite yet.

[He offered Mako a wry look. There were so many mysteries, and they had made so little headway.]

There is someone who had her orchard from Deerington survive through whatever world shifting took place, and it seems to be thriving. She wants to open her doors to run an herb shop from her home, and she agreed to let us use her orchard as a gardening workshop. Until we make more headway, that's the best we've got right now.