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]

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.

[arclightning]

Hey, it's something, at least. Good thing people are keeping this whole "stick-together it's our only shot" mentality. Half of me said as soon as we got here that would dissolve and it'd be every Sleeper for themselves.

[ But, you know, that's because underneath everything Mako is still a cynic and scared to trust people. ]

[justoscar]

Oh, for sure. I was worried about that too. But, well...

It's a nice surprise for all of us. Maybe this will be a better place to live after all.

[Cynicism was something that Oscar was learning despite his best efforts, but he wanted to keep hold of that farmboy optimism and curiosity that had initially spurred his journey. The world is painfully dark without finding the brighter parts too. ]