acatalepsy_logs | done with having dreams

( this is where mako's big brother expertise comes in handy, because if lance tries to eat more than two custards in a row mako will absolutely swat his hand and tell him to have a vegetable. )

I... see.

( a beat. then, )

Which color is yours?

[ yes but you have to catch his hand first if you want to swat it.

lance opens his mouth to respond, more out of habit than anything. ]

Bl- [ he stops himself, shaking his head. ] Sorry, I started off in Blue. But some stuff happened and we ended up moving around a bit with the lions, so now Red and I are a team.

( color theory in his world is basically just. hello! firebenders are red! waterbenders are blue! earthbenders are green! on repeat until you die.

but. blue would suit him. the same way waterbending does. there's a fluidity to lance, some unhoned grace that's entirely elemental. mako has a hard time associating him with the colors he traditionally ties to fire, but. that's the thing about water. it adapts. shifts, changes, the rise of tides to a torrent. maybe it would suit better than he thought. )

Are they elemental?

Kind of.

[ lance thinks for a moment, trying to find the best way to explain this. ]

There are aspects of each of the lions that kind of compare to elements? Like the green one prefers plants, and has some powers that have to do with plants. Blue has an ice beam, and moves really well through water. Red is really really fast, kind of has this personality that is closer to fire? Quick to react, passionate, that kind of thing. Black is the leader of the lions, so whoever is leading or has leadership potential pilots her. And yellow is kind of our defense- bulky, can take a lot of hits, has a shield and also a laser canon?

[ that....isn't as cut and dry as mako is probably used to, or anyone is used to, but lance sort of shrugs. ]

Keith used to be Red's pilot, Blue found me and the others first and I was the first one she kind of...let pilot her. But some stuff happened and Keith ended up piloting the Black lion, and Blue let Allura pilot her, and then Red let me in too so it worked out. [ there's......definitely no need to get into the background issues of that period of time, nope. ]

( you know, it probably says a lot about his time with bolin that he can kind of just follow along with this otherwise nonsensical ramble. he nods, tucking those explanations away in the back of his mind. )

So in a weird way, it makes sense that you'd be a waterbender here.

( he doesn't think the loss is permanent. after speaking with astoria, more than anything he'd assume that there's just something going haywire behind the scenes. not that he trusts her fully, but. it's more information than he had when he arrived. )

[ gold star for mako, because most people (even in lance's family) can't keep up with him when he gets into the height of his rambling. ]

I- [ lance pauses, blinking once. ] I guess so, yeah. [ he turns his eyes down to the custard, scraping the spoon along the sides of the dish for a moment. ]

Honestly I figured it's just because I like water? [ he shrugs, still not quite looking at mako. ] Like- the ocean, rain, that kind of thing. I'm from Cuba, so- [ a beat, and then he realizes mako will probably have no idea?? what cuba is??? ] Which is an island, so I grew up on the water most of my life.

I mean, that might be part of it, but. Waterbenders are —

( he hesitates, and then stands. goes to retrieve two glasses and a pitcher of water, which he brings back to the table. he sets a glass down in front of lance and pours it out, demonstrative. with a gesture to the way the water fills the cup, )

— adaptable. It sounds like you've had to adjust to a lot of changing circumstances over the last couple years. I don't think this power outage ( ha, ha ) is permanent. Otherwise, I wouldn't have firebending back at all.

[ his brows arch a bit when mako gets up, not quite following what he's talking about? but then he gets the water jug, and there's a pang of oh god okay get ready to use your power before mako continues and lance...just sort of exhales, relaxing. ]

Oh. [ he blinks, and then slowly breaks into a smile. ] Actually, yeah, that makes sense. [ because while he doesn't necessarily want to think about all the things he's had to go through over the last however many months, he likes the word adaptable. could get behind it.

he nods - once - more to himself than anything. ] You're probably right, which means you definitely should show me what you can do before it disappears again. But. After. [ he's going to look down at his now empty dish and back to mako, his smile turning into more of a grin. ] You have...more of this, right?

( lance gets a sort of pointed Look. child, you are not getting multiple helpings of dessert, thanks. somebody here clearly has to be the responsible one. )

I'd be happy to show you my firebending. And yeah, there's more custard, but you should probably have something a little more substantial first.

( actually, he has a few leftover pork buns in his rucksack, doesn't he? courtesy konoha's magical ingredient summoning. mako gets up to where he'd hung it on a hook he'd... more-or-less earthbent into the wall and tosses one of them at lance in an underhand. )

There. Chew on that, and we can head to the arena.

( it's korra's turn to do the dishes, anyway. )

[ hey don't look at him like that!!!! hunk's been busy trying to figure out what the eff is even going on and lance was here for two months before he showed up. scavenging for food has become a hobby, and he's not going to turn down good food if he can help it. ]

I didn't actually mean to show up and just have you shove food at me, but if you're offering....

[ and then there will be something thrown at him, and lance will only bobble it once before catching it, giving a quick glance to mako before shrugging and taking a bite as he moves to stand from his chair and follow after mako. ]

You didn't make these too, did you? [ munch munch munch. ]

( he only stops to tidy up the dishes and then the area where he'd worked. korra gets a quick text, your turn to do dishes, grab bo. food done. thnx. satisfied the lure of food will be enough to captivate her attention and that she'll gather up his brother, he grabs his bag and gestures lance out the door in front of him. he tugs it on over his head so it can sit crosswise on his chest. )

Yeah. The meat's not what I'm used to, but they didn't turn out terrible.

( pigs?? what even are those?? sounds fake. )

You mean pork?

[ because lance can taste it. and it tastes good. but he's also trying to wrap his head around someone not knowing how to cook pork and it's.....a little difficult.

he'll stop when he's out the door, waiting for mako to follow after grabbing his things. ]

Okay besides the fact this is delicious even if you're not used to it- you don't have pork in your world?

Uh...

( he sort of... lets that sound trail off, and then shakes his head, falling in close to the wall so he and lance can walk abreast down the hallway rather than one leading the other. )

Most people here think our animals are a little unusual. ( understatement, clearly. it's also probably obvious he's the slightest bit disconcerted by that. some things are constants — everyone knows tea, for instance, but animals? ) We have... you know, boarhawks, turtleducks, polar bear dogs, and sky bison and dragons. Well. Not many dragons, but. A few.

[ lance looks over at mako, brows raised, as he continues to eat away at the roll. it's only when mako gets into the specifics that he chokes - not seriously, but more as a sound of surprise, taking a second to swallow the bite. ]

I'm sorry- boarhawks? Polar Bear dogs? [ wait, no, actually that makes a lot more sense than when what he had been trying to call naga. ] Are they actually like- the two animals in one?

[ a beat. ]

Dragons. Definitely.

I... guess? Except they aren't two different animals to us. Most of the time. Although we do have just bears. And cats, as well as swancats.

( welcome to avatar, where the animals are made up and the contradictions don't matter. )

But that's just kind of how it's always been. Dragons were hunted almost to extinction, though.

So you have double-animals, and also regular animals. That's not at all confusing. Dang.

[ whatever. lance is going to keep eating. not going to let it ruin my day. ]

That's cool you have dragons, though. Are they like the stories? All angry and ready to kill everyone and hoarding a bunch of gold?

( well it's not confusing if you grew up with it!! mako sighs a bit, because discussing the fauna on his world is liable to turn into a full time job if he dares take it personally. instead, he'll focus on the other talking point: dragons. )

Not really. Dragons were the original firebenders, and they gave fire to humans. They're wise and incredibly powerful. But we hunted them nearly to extinction about a hundred and fifty years ago.

[ yeah that's okay, they can focus on this instead. and the incredible story of how apparently there are people out there given powers by dragons. since that. definitely makes sense. ]

So....why did you hunt them to extinction?

( see, the thing is. he doesn't know if there was a specific impetus. if there was a dragon once that raided a village that lead to their slaughter, or if it was just... always about human greed.

all he can do is guess. and mako never really gives humanity the benefit of the doubt. )

Because killing a dragon came with a title. Respect. Money. It was a show of power, usually done by those who already had enough of it.

( a shrug. )

Dragons are protected now under the current Fire Lord, at least. And their numbers are starting to recoup.

[ well isn't this a mood killer. lance kind of makes a face. ]

That's....kind of depressing, actually.

[ yikes. ]

I've never seen a dragon before. [ trying to change the subject??? lance tilts his head a bit to the side as they keep walking. ] I've seen planet sized creatures and like- this weird space whale thing, but not like a dragon dragon.

( it's the sort of cultural shame that never really goes away. mako just shrugs his shoulders. it doesn't bother him to talk about — acknowledging atrocity is sort of the first step one needs to take not to repeat it, but he can tell it makes lance uncomfortable, so. subject change it is.

they're outside the temple now, out in the clean open air. the sun is a soft mantle across his skin, settling in with the heat of firebending at its beck. )

How can a creature be the size of a planet?

[ lance can't help but grin a little at the question, looking quite pleased with himself as he shrugs. ]

I told you we paladins are space defenders, right? Our lions can travel through space, and in some universes there are big ole creatures that look a little like whales? But are so big that they're basically planets. Like. Actually planets.

[ he's still walking with mako, so if the other decides to turn or go to anywhere specific, lance will follow, though he does continue talking as he walks. ]

It's kind of confusing too? Because some are just straight up planets, but are alive, and does that make it a creature or a living planet? Are living planets creatures? [ s h r u g ]

( he's very obviously going to the training arena, lance. keep up!!

everything lance tells him sounds like a story. something faraway, untouchable. a tale told to children at their bedsides. it's a lot to ask of his suspension of disbelief — even if his is pretty hardy to start. there's a part of him that wants to go to these places, see these things, inhabit the world that lance has laid out for him. mako isn't exactly an explorer, he's never really had the urge to go off to the far-flung corners of the world because he knows what he'll find there. but the entire universe? that's different somehow.

he tucks his hands into his pockets. )

I guess it really depends on your definition of 'living'. There's a moon spirit, where I'm from. I don't see why there can't be... planet spirits too.

[ right yeah he's definitely.....thinking that far ahead. totally.

and it's not lost on him - how crazy it all sounds. lance has made it a habit to take things as they come, because honestly - it's the only way he's able to keep his feet under him. giant monsters the size of planets? sure. princesses who are asleep for tens of thousands of years? why not. a big ole evil empire trying to take over literally every universe possible? sounds like a monday.

because honestly if he thinks too much about it, he's not sure he'll be able to keep going. and that's all that matters at this point. he has to keep going. ]

Okay but is your moon spirit a person or an alien? Or....both? Maybe a creature? [ this is a dangerous rabbit hole. ]

Oh, uh. It's hard to explain.

( it's not, really, but mako sucks at storytelling. which. makes it hard by default. he rubs at the back of his neck. )

About a hundred years ago there was a princess born to one of the Water Tribes. She was sick at birth, so her parents prayed to the moon spirit to save her. Spirit-spirit, not... alien or creature. Something that came from the spirit world but now lived in ours. And the spirit did save her, but when she was about sixteen a firebender named Zhao killed the its physical form, and the princess sacrificed her life to... I guess, become the spirit herself? So that our world could keep the moon.

( look it doesn't make a lot of sense to him either. master katara, he knows, was there for the whole thing, but it's not like he knows her well enough to ask after the story. all he has to go on are nebulous tales heard from adults or gleaned in historical footnotes. yue, the moon. )

done with having dreams

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