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ᴡʜᴏ: Lucina! And you!
ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ: All around the Temple of Beginnings.
ᴡʜᴇɴ: Early October, pre-caves.
ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: G - PG at most.
ᴡʜᴀᴛ: Whatever your heart desires. Also: prompts below the cut.

» ғɪɢʜᴛɪɴɢ ʀɪɴɢ.

[ Getting used to this new existence with its promise of effort - a home she hadn't exactly asked for, but wasn't complaining over - Lucina certainly can't allow her forms to slacken or her muscles to grow lazy with disuse. The two-handed sword is her weapon of choice, typically, although she has trained on other things (~~thank you, Fire Emblem Heroes~~)—today, Falchion is loyally in her hands.

...Metaphorically loyally. She still likes to believe her inherited sword is loyal to her, the way it picks and chooses among Naga's scions with a finesse that borders on cruel.

Why would that be in doubt?

Well, the training dummy has managed to disarm her and refuses to let go. Falchion protrudes from the left hand it mysteriously has, wooden fingers wrapped around the hilt.

She has been trying to get it to relinquish the blade for the past ten minutes. Kicking it does not work. Striking it in center mass does not work.

(Walking away will work, but that's not in Lucina's repetoire. Hopefully someone will suggest that to her.)

Maybe... maybe begging will work? ]

Please return Falchion to me.

[ Stony, smiling silence. Ridiculously, Lucina's voice cracks like a whip. ] It will not even work for you! [ Who would like to walk onto this mess? ]

» ᴋɪᴛᴄʜᴇɴs.

[ Fortunately, Lucina is at least somewhat familiar with rationing, although life here is hardly comparable to the ascetic necessity of her sundered future. She knows precisely how much a person can live on without losing too much muscle mass - getting to prepare her meals beyond that limitation is a luxury she's still growing used to. She has yet to eat the alloted breakfast portion in its entirety without saving a little over for lunch, but with all the sickness going around (and her own arguable bout, that she denies and affirms in turn—Lords Don't Get Sick, except when they do) she's put a little extra energy in ensuring people are fed.

This prompt will not be as long as the previous one.

As soon as someone enters, she smiles over at them from her position above an oven. A large pot bubbles placidly, efficiently stewed meats lending an edible aroma to the air. ]

Good day, friend. Would you care for some soup?

[ She... she doesn't really know how to make anything else. ]

» ᴡɪʟᴅᴄᴀʀᴅ.

( Anything else! Lucina can likely be found making herself useful in whatever degree, training in the fighting ring, or wandering the forest. If you'd like to plot something, feel free to hit me up via PM to this account, but I'm usually down for whatever. c: )

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( that resolve keeps crumbling. mako sets the messenger bag down on the counter, and starts taking ingredients out of it. he's a cop, first and foremost. but being here has resulted in rather a lot of free time on his hands, and he's got people that need to stay fed. mako's always enjoyed cooking — growing up the son of a grocer will do that to you, probably — and it's a good way to keep himself occupied. )

Well, it's... meat. Inside a bun.

( he is The Best at explaining things. he gives her a sideways glance. it's sort of... calculating, in a manner of speaking, as if he's weighing his options. then, )

Do you want to learn how to make them?

[ "Meat inside of a bun" is a rather terse explanation, although she imagines it's also an accurate one, and takes no offense. Tilting her gaze away from the stew pot for a moment, one ear careful to listen for the sounds of its insides bubbling over, Lucina watches him spread out the ingredients.

His awkwardness glances off of her quite neatly. How not? She's dealt with far, far worse. (That is to say, more eccentric.) And his offer wins him a smile, brief, one that disappears as soon as it's time to look attentive. ]

That would be lovely, thank you.

[ Just give her a second to move her pot off the brazier before it boils over... oh good, it's both surprisingly heavy in its filled form - and - liable to slosh - ]

( he steps in to help unprompted. soup pots!! heavy things!! and although he puts his hands right up against all the parts that were recently being heated he doesn't seem particularly troubled by it. his firebending has been coming and going for a few days, but it's always an obvious shift, a sudden awareness of the sun's passage in the sky in the back of his mind. firebenders aren't fireproof, per se, but their tolerance is considerable and mako's no exception. )

Careful.

( it's not exactly a warning or him being chiding, it's more a nod to the two of them working together. once they get the pot to a less precarious position — )

It smells pretty good.

[ There's a breathlessly uttered thank you as he assists her. Having the pot in a safe place is a weight off both her mind and hands. The latter, it should be noted, is somewhat reddened from the heat as well as creased lightly where the rim of the pot had left imprints in her skin. She's certainly been through worse than mild irritation, though, and barely seems to notice.

She has never been a firebender, not once in her life, but tolerating heat is a fair part of survival. This is hardly that. ]

It's easy with the right ingredients. Fortunately, the pantry was well stocked.

[ Pork, buns, soup... there's so much to appreciate about today! Coincidentally, her stomach makes a light growl. Hopefully he didn't hear. ]

( oh, he definitely heard. but as someone who spent a lot of time being hungry, he's not about to draw attention to it. he just heads back to where he'd laid out ingredients, gesturing for her to join him.

he'll talk his way through what needs to be done, the application of ingredients, the sorts of spice, et cetera, pausing to answer any questions she may have if necessary. if she's up for it, he'll set her up to make the dough while he cooks the pork mixture, and by the time it's all ready to go together — )

I guess you can say this is the fun part.

Edited 2018-10-05 17:11 (UTC)

[ Lucina follows along dutifully. As limited as her knowledge is, she's a patient learner, absorbing the information he provides without even needing to interject with questions. She does take a moment to appreciate the use of spices, though - it's the sort of luxury, not unlike butter or sugar, that she's not particularly used to.

The dough making is simple enough. Somehow, she doesn't screw it up, although if Mako has exacting standards, it may not be up to them. She'll leave it wherever he tells her before replying. ]

I assume we insert the pork into the dough?

( look, there's a reason he stopped trying to teach bolin how to cook, and it wasn't because his dough was a little on the imperfect side. she's fine, by comparison. mako just nods approvingly to her work. )

Yeah. Like this — ( he takes a segment of dough, rolls it up, flattens it out and then puts a spoonful of the cooked meat mixture in the middle, gathering up the edges together until he can pinch them off at the top. ) see? Then it's ready for the steamer.

Yes, I see.

[ What's a steamer? ...You know what, she's not going to bother asking. Doubtless she'll find out laterally, sooner or later. He seems very deft in the kitchen. (Briefly, Lucina will wonder if he's the boyfriend Sheryl was boasting off below.)

Lucina mimics his actions, albeit slower, more careful in her inexperience. ]

The pork smells wonderful. It will go well with the soup, if you would care to have some.

[ You know, after they're done, or after Lucina accidentally burns down the dining area — whatever happens first. ]

( the steamer does make its grand appearance. it's obviously been hand-made, but it's functional enough, and the little buns get set inside as they're made. he even gives the occasional encouraging comment to how she does hers, correcting her only if some grievous error has been made that would compromise the dumpling's integrity. )

Sure. I'd love to try it.

( normally he isn't really one to take the charity of others, but. there's an exchange of information and ideas here, so he doesn't mind it half so much.)

Is it a recipe from home?

[ It's hardly meant to be charity, in Lucina's eyes; they all need to help each other to survive, right? That philosophy may be a holdover from the life she left behind but she's having distinct trouble letting go of it.

As for his question -- ] I suppose you could call it that. We didn't have strict recipes per se, [ because of the zombies and the apocalypse ] but we learned to make do with limited ingredients.

[ As the buns are cooking, she takes out two bowls and pours out a generous helping of stew for both. His first, then hers. ]

( he makes a soft, agreeable sound, a sort of mm before he turns away from the steaming buns to the soup. he notices the order she pours the bowls in — she's polite, but given the context of her statement he imagines it goes beyond manners.

he's met a lot of people here from a lot of different walks of life, but he's always been quick to recognize kindred spirits. he tips his head as he takes a seat opposite her. )

I guess the one good thing about not having a lot to eat is that it makes every bite taste like a five course meal, right? ( it's said with a faint, wry smile. ) Thanks.

[ Survival is a common denominator - but there's more to it than that. Like him, she's an orphaned older sibling (with admittedly loose definitions of some of those descriptors, because time travel) but there's a perfunctory note to her movements, almost automatic, the way which she tends to the other before herself. ]

Of course.

[ And then, uh... this. Yeah. This. ]

You look a great deal like the young man who made the broadcast the other day. [ Is that the right word? Broadcast? ...Anyway, it still doesn't look like she's figured out exactly what Bolin and Korra were doing, and that Bolin isn't Mako.

She's, uh, not that bright sometimes. ]

Was that your brother?

( he chokes on a spoonful of soup. give him a second, he'll cough it out. )

I. Uh. Yes. That was Bolin. My younger brother. He's a real character sometimes. I'm not, uh. I'm not actually in the market for a girlfriend, don't listen to him.

[ Lucina smiles kindly. She's not looking to fulfil the "girlfriend wanted" ad as much as he's disinterested in the results, but she certainly doesn't think it was as bad as all that. ]

I didn't mean to fluster you.

[ She takes a bite of her bun. Yum! ]

It's nice that your family cares so much for you.

( he's not flustered!! he's just. you know. ... okay so what if he is flustered. though the kindliness of her reaction and subsequent statement does mitigate the sting a little, leaving him slouched with just the faintest residual bit of petulance in his chair. )

Yeah. I mean, I guess that's one way of looking at it. I know he means well.

( a shake of his head. enough about bolin. )

What about you? Do you have any siblings?

One, yes.

[ Possibly to be retconned later (watch this space!) but for now, she's happy to elaborate. Lucina smiles a little more brightly, in a way that touches the corners of her eyes, to speak of her family. ]

A younger sister. She can be quite the handful but it's difficult to say no to her.

[ Her lips twitch, suppressing laughter born of an idle thought. ]

I can scarcely imagine the delight she'd take in performing for everyone with our bracelets. [ Beat. ] The watches. [ It's still a weird effing way to refer to them, okay. ]

( he's such a sucker for siblings. it's enough to feel an instant kinship with her, to hear her speak so fondly of hers. he knows that not all siblings get along — honestly, he and bolin have been at each other's throats a few times in their lives, too. but. the love will alway be there first.

he stirs his stew absently, takes a thoughtful bite. the way lucina speaks of her, he doesn't think her sibling is actually here, which. is hard. he can't imagine how differently his life would be here if he didn't have bolin. )

She sounds pretty wonderful, though.

Thank you for saying so. In truth, I worry for her.

[ It's easier to confide for someone who is so willing to listen. Despite her words, Lucina is even toned. Thoughtful. How not? She's been an older sister for most of her life and has grown accustomed to the worry, the prickles, the irritation - the good and the bad. ]

She was initiated into the pegasus knights at quite a young age. She has the skill but her temperament is...

[ How to put this nicely. ]

Loud.

[ And who is going to scold her while Lucina is here, doing gods knows what? ]

Edited 2018-10-12 00:05 (UTC)

( it reminds him a lot of how he felt when bolin joined kuvira. it wasn't a question of skill — bo's always been the greatest earthbender he's known, in his opinion. metal mastery or not. lavabending just... proved what he'd been aware of since they were kids. if he doubted his brother's ability he never would have let him get into pro-bending, or fight by his side against all those grave myriad threats they've faced over the years.

but he gets the anxiety, too. the fear and uncertainty. )

Sounds like her and Bolin would get along.

( a slight smile. acknowledging their mutual plight. )

But I did hear that time doesn't pass back on our worlds while we're here, so... nothing should have changed when you go back.

No, I'm quite afraid you misunderstand. I'm not going back.

[ Well, that, uh. That's a thing.

Lucina is silent for a moment, with those words dropped into the conversation like a heavy rock disturbing a peaceful pond, and then wipes at her corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. It may seem like a cold thing to announce so bluntly, when she's described a family back home - a family that she clearly cares for, and frets over - but she has her reasons. ]

Um...

[ Quick, how to salvage this conversation.

...

She's got nothing. ]

( there's only one reason he can think of why that might be. astoria's been fairly firm on the concept of returning home, but for lucina to say it and seem so certain about it all.

it doesn't occur to him, really, that someone might want to just ... be somewhere else, start something new, exist beyond the constraints of family. he assumes, quite simply, that she died. )

Well. ( his tone's a bit on the soft side. ) Maybe she'll end up here.

[ She actually isn't, and would hurry to correct him if she knew about this assumption - she would never be so disrespectful to claim the same tragedy that afflicted so many of her own people, claimed them - but without any sense of his thoughts, she simply lets it go. An abberation of her home exists, she's been told she is welcome but doesn't feel it, so - so it was time to go. ]

That would be nice.

[ A sister, or another sister, or a brother - whomever of her interchangeable siblings from her dating sim canon arrives!

...Anyway. ]

Perhaps your brother could help keep her out of trouble.

( sorry, did he laugh? )

Uhhh... Bo's not really the go-to guy if you're trying to keep out of trouble. He's sort of a magnet for it.

[ That may be true, but! Bear with her here, Lucina is going to try to be wise. (Results pending.) ]

If he had someone more rambunctious than him to look after, that might temper him.

[ Or she just might be trying, prematurely, to pawn off her sister.

Fifty-fifty. ]

( actually, that's kind of what happened, isn't it? bolin got stuck babysitting varrick, and he came back more mature than mako remembered him being. it probably would work. he shakes his head a bit, rueful. he misses his little brother, the boy who went off to join kuvira's army in the hopes of making a better world. he's barely had a chance to get to know the man he's become. it makes him feel. old. and wistful, in a way, for days when the only thing they really had to worry about was when their next meal was coming from.

he exhales a bit, steady and even, and takes a bite of a dumpling while he thinks. )

I guess it might. That's sort of what happened back home anyway, so. Might as well keep the trend.

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rightfully - 2018-10-23 22:51 (UTC) - Expand

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