avatar_state | IC INBOX \ House Details (Deerington)

Ah, the good old days when all they had to worry about was rent and the impending championship. Back before chi blockers and separatists and assassins and civil wars and coups and wars and weapons of mass destruction. Before other worlds and monstrous dreams and new cities with so much of the unknown racing towards them at the speed of light.

He misses it, too.

Trench has a lot of good to offer, and Bolin has made a commitment to making this his home, but it doesn't mean he's forgotten. Their lives, like stars, seem to be drifting further and further apart into the universe.

There comes a chock on the door about five minutes before- what did they say- 9~? Korra said not to bring anything but he doesn't like showing up empty handed and his housemate is a prolific chef, so there's a basket of savory parcels in his hands. They're only small, a fine filo pastry with little bites of...he has no idea. But they sure smelled good last night when Hunk was making them. Packed with nutrients, apparently. Good to give someone who needs to recover their strength from a big battle.

Like Mako wasn't going to bring anything, anyway.

He feels wrong these days turning up without food in his hands: it's one of the only ways he has to really make sure everyone's alright, with corruption heavy in the air and the possibility of beasthood around the corner. Nothing Mako can do will ever stop those things, not really, so he brings rice and some pressed tofu he'd made, and a full jar of scallion sauce because he and Manabu had maybe gone a little hard on scavenging scallions from that wreck and Wu's getting tired of eating them (somehow).

It's a small feast, but Mako shows up just a step or two behind his brother, nudges his elbow into Bolin's side as they wait. He looks—

well. His hair is neat, but there's that new handprint, long-fingered and elegant, shadowing his jaw, and a few other tiny marks besides that he's sort of trying to hide with a high-collared jacket. He's also smiling, small and content.

"Look at you, showing up early."

She manages a thin smile, pushing herself up from the chair.

"Glad you both could make it."

For her part, she's looking...well, worn.

"And everything looks delicious," she said, before adding as a warning: "I'm not gonna be pretty digging into everything this morning, fair warning."

“When has that ever been a problem?” Bolin answers with a soft snort after elbowing his brother back.

Setting his offering down on the nearest surface, there’s a weird moment where he isn’t quite sure what to do with himself. Isn’t sure what the vibe of this is going to be. Korra looks pretty rough and he has some opinions about that but.. where do you start. Do you start at all?

“Can I get you anything?”

"Tea," Mako adds, a little dry, watching her closely as he toes off his shoes, "spirit water, hot compress? You look rough, Korra."

Easier not to hold back, and even now, he knows he doesn't really have to. Korra prefers it, he's pretty sure, when he doesn't. They've been through enough together over the years that he can just say what's on his mind and not worry (as much) about what she'll think.

Also, she looks like crap, and Mako's been worried for days now, ever since the alarms sounded.

And she knows it.

She passes a plate over to Bolin. "I've got some stuff preparing inside. If you could get that and load me up with stuff, I'd appreciate it. And yes, tea."

But she turned to Mako, wagging a finger at him.

"I'll have you know," she begins, with all the bluster and bravado of old, and then lets it slip away into a tired smile, "that I'm feeling twice as rough as I look." She sighed.

"So hurray, I know I can do my spirit form but...ooof, it takes a lot out of me. And there's something in the air, too. Like the next month is going to be extra tough for warmbloods like me."

Bolin stops, half way in the door. Tea and food, sure, sure, but hold up a second.

“W- wait, what? What do you mean bad month for warmbloods? I’m a warmblood, why would you say that?”

"Can you sense the changes before they happen?" Mako adds, his brows rising as he moves to follow Korra's instructions. "That's... handy. Could you always do that?"

She shakes her head. "It's not like...foreknowledge. It's like...feeling seasons changing, you know? It's like...feeling rain all over, you know? At least how it's affecting me. I usually bounce back after a good night's sleep, but haven't this time."

She shrugs. "It's like feeling fall turn into winter."

She leaned back into her chair, with a soft smile.

"I'm going to be pretty useless, I think."

Bo gives a little euuuuch noise but goes inside to get the stuff he'd been asked to retrieve, mentally crossing his fingers and toes that it's not going to be all warmbloods. They already have a hard enough time in this city as it is.

"Great," Mako murmurs. "Just what we needed after that attack—" he tugs open the oven, pulling out some of the heat with a wave of his hand, and tugs at the rack without using gloves. Firebender perks. They look good—excellent, really, so Mako tugs them all free, calling over his shoulder, "Korra, the buns are gold, they done? Bo, grab a plate for me."

He doesn't exactly mean to just take over in the kitchen but by the time he's finished, the buns are on the little table outside and all the things he'd brought are unpacked, and he's settling into a chair beside Korra, his eyes sharp. "Hey. I don't know if we're here to talk business, but, Korra— I didn't even know you could still get into your spirit form."

"Yeah, that's done!" she calls back, rubbing at her forehead. And she watches all of that unfold with a bit of a bemused look. When had he become so good at all this? Seems a lot had changed.

"A little of that, a little of just...missing seeing you when death and destruction aren't on the line," she replied. "And I couldn't," she replied, "not in Deerington, anyway. I tried the Avatar State once or twice but it always backfired. I mean, life would spring up - like a bush or some flowers - but yeah."

She shrugged.

"Here's a different story, turns out. I can tap into the spiritual energy, same as anywhere."

Now settled with all their snacks and tea, Bolin listens and considers Korra's words for a moment. There's a light bulb moment as he breaks off a pinch of bun to give to Pabu.

"Is that because this is a real world and the place before was a dream?"

Makes sense to him, anyway.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

Not that they need a reason to hang out (besides wow she was just in a huge battle?) but Korra kinda sounded like she had one.

Edited 2022-03-26 04:50 (UTC)

Because they will listen. If there's one thing the brothers are good at, somehow, it's that. Sure, Mako will usually try to fix it—he's a solution-person, at the end of the day—but they're here, crowded around this little table in a strange city in a place Korra built to do exactly that.

"Yeah," Mako echoes quietly, reaching over to grab for the teapot, pour Korra some tea, "whatever is going on, you know you can talk to us. What's the energy like around here?"

She looks over at Bolin, surprised. Because she hadn't thought of that before.

"Huh, that could be it," she said. "It felt so real all the time it was hard to remember it was all part of someone else's dream."

Then she listens to Mako chime in, and she sighs, taking a diffident bite and chewing for a moment.

"I miss us," she said, finally. "Just...this, right? All Fire Ferrets together. And I know, I know, we've all got our own lives going and those drag us in different directions...but..."

She sighed.

"I miss Republic City," she said. "I miss not being in this awful place. If it weren't for you two...for Asami, and Wu, it'd be my perfect nightmare. I had to deal with a...huge, shapeshifting monstrosity the other day and it felt...wrong, not having you both there."

She points at Mako.

"And it's all wrong. All of it. Like Paul said - the people who fought the Leviathan were prophesied to be there. And I didn't question that. Since when don't I question something like that?"

It's a good question, and though Korra is asking Mako, Bolin gives it some thought. He doesn't want to say anything mean and upset her but she is right. Since when has Korra ever just gone along with something that, especially from someone she doesn't know. Who is this Paul guy, anyway?

"Felt kinda bad to not be there."

He folds his arms over his chest, more out of vulnerability than annoyance. It feels like they've conflicting in every point, here. Okay, maybe he's a little annoyed.

"This is our home now, Korra. Even if it's not something you want..I'm not sure you could go back if you tried. We just have to accept that this is what we've got and be okay with it. I have. Mako and Wu have. I mean, if anything, we have more opportunity to be together now than ever. You're the one who moved all the way out here."

IC INBOX \ House Details (Deerington)

Sorry for the delay!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

WOW JUST.... fully did not see this notification, sorry friends!!

No worries!

My delay this time sorry!