deernet | video; un:mako

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video; un:mako

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. ]

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Eh? Fritter? [Wu's...dog-thing? it's not a dog, but he sure as hell can't remember what it is.]

I mean, I guess if other familiar things show up, that part makes sense, but I have no idea whose dog is--eh?!

[he startles, only just noticing the little dragon landing on his blind side. he almost swats at it out of impulse, catching himself and just clenching his fist and withdrawing it, tensing up. do not bite me whatever you are.

in very Manabu fashion, the dog does not seem to have any concern for Manabu's wellbeing over there, instead just happy to be doted on. this could be u, Manabu, but u playin.]

[ Zuko does not bite him, but Zuko does make an affronted little noise as she settles onto Manabu's shoulders like a particularly warm, scaled scarf. Her fur tufts are at least very soft.

Meanwhile, Mako looks up from the very intense scritches he's giving the little dog (it's so cute. How is it so cute?) ]

You sure this guy isn't yours? If he's following you around, seems pretty clear to me.

Uhhhh...

[that's a very good point, Mako, but Manabu can't really say he's listening while a wild animal is coiling around his throat. he goes statue-still in the awkward, startled pose he discovered the dragon in, starting to sweat.]

M...Mako? Um-- [does this thing get startled by loud noises? sudden movements? the scent of unease?]

What?

[ Mako looks up and immediately has to bite down on a smile. Concern radiates off Zuko, hard enough Mako can feel it too. Pushing himself to his feet, he dodges around the little dog and holds out an arm for her. ]

Come on, stop bullying him. Sorry. She keeps doing this to Wu, too.

[ Mako is holding out an arm but Zuko clearly has no intention of moving. ]

She- [she??] She what? Huh? This is-- [he goes through a bewildered sequence of pointing and looking, which appears to overtake the fear of getting strangled or bitten.] This is your guy? Since when?

My Omen? Since... about four days ago.

[ Well apparently since he got here but Zuko only decided to show her face four days ago. Either way, now she leans up, radiating amusement, and touches her little snout to Manabu's cheek. She likes you, strange demonstrative human. ]

She's not dangerous. Not on purpose. Zuko, come on. Knock it off. Manabu has enough to deal with right now.

[ She gives Mako a very pointed kind of look, but huffs hot breath against Manabu's cheek and finally disengages her claws to slide down onto Mako's arm. ]

Really...?

[the more he understands the little dragon's not some spooky...well, omen of worse things to come, the more curious and less dreadful Manabu feels about it - almost to the point where he's kind of disappointed it's fluttered away?

meanwhile, dog, the dog of Manabu's brain, is not excited that attention is not on him and nips at Mako's pantleg.]

Wait, how did you wind up with a little...dragon-creature? Someone gave it--er, her...to you?

[ Mako hesitates, his face twisting up a bit as he tries to figure out how to say she appeared out of my chest in a puff of smoke without making Manabu feel like he has to check Mako for a fever or something. There's really no normal way to say that, huh?

Then again: Manabu was a squid too. Probably. Maybe he'll just accept it as another weird thing they all have to deal with now.

(Or, Mako's mind offers, maybe he'll just pile one more thing on Manabu's shoulders that he has to try to understand).

At the second nip Mako makes a startled noise and glances down at the little dog again, biting on a smile. ]

What, I stopped paying attention to you and you get mad? Needy. You come out of that smoke, too?

[ ...welp. ]

That's where Zuko came from. Big puff of smoke. That came from... me.

[Manabu blinks, head tilting. the dog stops tugging on Mako's leg to shoot a very pointed look over at him with a little growl. after a beat of staring and gears turning, Manabu grimaces.]

That's...not part of your usual bending, is it?

[the dog huffs.]

[ Mako kind of gets this little dog, he thinks. He scruffs over its pointed ears, snorting at Manabu's head tilt. Is it weird that he can see the resemblance? Maybe this little guy really does belong at Manabu's side. They have the same determined energy, the same snappish dedication to the topic at hand. ]

What, making a dragon? No. I think it's a here-thing. Fritter appeared in a cloud of smoke out of Wu's chest, and now he can hear her think.

[ This is, naturally, a gross oversimplification of events. ]

[here is where a savvier person would connect some dots - perhaps realize that hey! this annoying little dog appeared during one of those spontaneous combustion moments - a moment full of smoke! so it's very possible the dog could be a construct from a similar condition with the dragon and Fritter!

Manabu is not savvy. Manabu just sees an annoying little dog, some stray looking for scraps, that just won't leave him alone or shut up.

maybe he needs a kinder self-image over here!]

That's... [really weird. weird enough to distract Manabu entirely, which helps with the spontaneous combustion problem for a bit.] So you just...have a dragon now.

Apparently. And—well, she hasn't exactly talked, but I can... kind of understand her.

[ Wow he sure is just sounding weirder and weirder over here, huh! Mako scratches at his own nose as Zuko curls up around his shoulders, draping like a warm living scarf. ]

Honestly, it's one of the better changes. Better than freezing half the things I touch. Still working on that one.

[while Manabu stares owlishly, the dog headbutts Mako's leg.]

Freezing...? Wait, huh? [blinkblink.] Y-you, too? I thought...I mean, I thought I was just really sick...

Hey—come on, I can't pet you all the time.

[ Factually untrue, Mako, you totally could.

Either way, he. He has to deal with what Manabu just said, which mostly involves a lot of staring right back at him, kind of wide-eyed. ]

You... always make ice when you're sick? How'd you think that? None of this is normal.

N-no! No, I--well, [he grimaces. is he entirely certain? not really. but:] well, I...I mean the, the being cold all the time, and when it rains, it just...freezes on me? But it's a cold like--like the death flu. [quickly:] Not the ice part! Just the being...cold...

[his tone tapers off feebly, realizing he's basically just dropped word spaghetti all over the floor and it's a mess.

in exasperation, he rubs at his face and ruffles hair on the back of his head.]

Look--I mean. Clearly...a lot of weird stuff is going on right now! I just...don't have a benchmark of how weird is weird... [or where a stupid nosy dog fits in.]

[ No, that's actually fair. It's not like Mako was perfectly comfortable discovering he suddenly had control over an element the polar opposite of his own. It's taken him nearly a week to come to terms with it, and that doesn't mean he can actually control it yet.

It might actually be a good thing to stop and acknowledge how weird everything is, if only for Mako's own peace of mind. He's so used to hitting the ground running, adapting as quickly as he can and making sure that everyone around him is going to be okay. He rarely remembers to slow down, or even thinks that he should. ]

Alright, I get you. I don't think you're sick. I think it has something to do with our blood—you looked at your own blood yet?

[man, everyone is obSESSED with blood here! Manabu kind of hates it! but he has to relent at some point, right?]

N...no... Why? Is that what turned out to be what's up with you? [dragon-making blood?

his shoulders draw up in revulsion, and he shivers at the notion his very blood's been messed with? that's a bit too close to the heart.]

Yup. Pretty sure, anyway: I can bend ice now, and my blood freezes the second it's outside my body. It's... also blue.

[ Just. Grimacing harder and channeling all his feelings about THAT into petting this little dog. We're fine, it's all fine, can't afford to feel any kind of way about that!

Mako is fully on the ground now, cross-legged. He's weak to animals, as much as he'd never admit it. ]

I don't know. You're right that the bar for weird is... different. I thought life with Korra was weird. This is a completely new realm.

[Manabu mirrors the pained look, a veritable yeesh in face-form. their suffering seems to be the dog's gain, because he is all for the aggressive pets. by all means, get comfortable here!

"the bar for weird," Mako says, and Manabu almost mentions something about how it doesn't count if he's from a place with flying livestock. that's not fair though, is it? that'd imply his life of space trains is the real baseline here.

gah. baselines, benchmarks, blue blood... Manabu sighs, rubbing at his face.]

...Right. Okay. Suspending disbelief is...there's really no choice there. [his hand moves from his face to the back of his head as he frowns down at Mako and the mini menagerie he's got going on here.]

So at this point it's...just...deal with all of that now. Okay. I mean-- [his expression scrunches.] Wu did insist I ask for help sorting this out from you, but, but I don't know if it's the exact same thing...

Yeah, you're right. Fighting it just takes energy we'll probably need.

[ Mako sounds almost resigned about this, and would look it if he wasn't so busy petting a dog. It's hard to be resigned about anything when petting a dog. If he's really tied to Manabu, does Manabu want pets this much? Does it mean something? Fritter and Wu seem to mirror each other, and Zuko adores Wu so far.

Huh. More to just accept. At least Mako's good at that. He squares his shoulders off and scritches at the dog's soft, pointed ear. ]

It's probably not the exact same thing, but we have to try anyway. It's either that or you're a human candle. Or popsicle. Or, you know, both. Worth a shot, right?

[ He waves a hand at Manabu, crooking his fingers to indicate he should come sit across from Mako. ]

C'mon. We can start now. I don't know if this guy's [ scritch scritch ] gonna let me get up, anyway.

[part of Manabu wants to suggest just...throwing the dog. but that's 1: mean and 2: not gonna work, because he definitely did that himself and he felt bad about it until the dog started biting him. again.

he...really needs to get this omen-thing sorted, because this literal battle with an aspect of himself is going to leave him covered in dog bites.

anyway, Manabu sits down as requested, frowning at the sight of the damn dog just living it up over there like there's no bigger issues going on. jeez...

he sighs.]

Right...So. How does this work? If it's meditation, I, uh...I don't know. Vira-Lorr and I already gave that a shot, and...I mean, it did keep me from sparking repeatedly, but...

It's...

[ Mako grimaces, settling himself a little more comfortably. A heavy dampness in the air promises later rain, and the chill of the cobblestones creeps through Mako's pants. ]

I don't know. It's kind of like that, but more focused. I'm not great at real meditation, but I find this pretty easy, and it's a good way to get a handle on your powers if you can pull it off.

[rather than take the advantage of a free lap, the dog seems more keen to just sprawl out at Mako's side. meanwhile Manabu frowns, crossing his legs, scratching at his shoulder idly.]

I mean--it...it's worth a shot, right? [and if anyone knows what to do with fire-stuff, it's Mako. has to be. the guy makes fire just happen! surely he can make it...not happen, too.]

Yeah, it is. You can do it, you're smart.

[ Helping! Mako looks around for something to light on fire, realizes he has nothing, and spends a moment making eye contact with Zuko, coiled around his shoulders, before snapping his fingers. ]

Okay, uh. I don't have a candle, so... look at my fingers. You're gonna concentrate on this fire, alright? Not your breathing or anything like that. I want you to tell me if you can feel it at all.

[ And with another snap of his fingers, Mako lights a small, controlled flame, holding it up over two index fingers like candle. ]

...

[Manabu frowns, immediately doubtful of this whole venture, but...but he wouldn't be himself if he didn't try, right? and if Mako's going to go out of his way to entertain this, he can't let him down!

so despite doubts, he furrows his brow and dutifully stares. feel the fire...without touching it? it's a bit obtuse to him, but...

...]

...

[...]

...........

[he squints.]

.......................................................................

[this

this might go on

too long

Mako

do something]

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