( the flames go out, though the smoke still curls up towards the ceiling after they're gone. and he's just. he's tired, suddenly. you never realize how much of your strength and focus is given over to keeping yourself functional under the flux of pain until the pain's... gone. in its absence he just feels empty. stripped down. vulnerable, a little, though he doesn't know allura well enough to let himself be so with her. at least not in any unchecked way.

he does flex his fingers, pressing the pads of them against his palms and then away. )

I've been a bender my entire life. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I lost it. Firebending draws its power from the sun, so... we can always feel it as it moves across the sky.

( it was like the world went dark without it. even though he could see the light, it was just... light and warmth. there was nothing in it that called to him. )