[ Mako glances sharply up at that, his brows drawing together. ]
You saw that? It was pretty rough. Wu had to get snuck out of Ba Sing Se in the chaos.
[ He and Bolin were there for that, too, embedded in the chaos in the palace. He hadn't spared a thought for any other members of the royal family then, too worried about Korra's awful message for Zaheer, about getting their family out, and sure at the same time that none of them were worth saving.
He regrets that, now, but that isn't the point here.
The point is that Varian's whole body is tight with a familiar tension, and Mako understands it on such a deep level.
With a small sigh, he moves a little farther away from the ice, pressing a hand carefully between Varian's shoulderblades to lead him down toward the shore. ]
Thought we all gave up on what should be happening a long time ago. Why is this really freaking you out?
[It leaves an unsettled feeling in his stomach- to see how distressed Wu had been, to feel it. After all, Varian's been on the other side of this. He took the queen hostage, tried to kill her. He caused that pain and fear Wu felt in her family. It's not helping his current edginess about the whole powers situation.
The hand on his back is grounding, and he lets out a slow breath. It's fine. He's with Mako and Mako is safe and good and has heard about the absolute darkest parts of Varian's life and did not leave. If there's anyone in this entire town he can trust with all the growing panic he's got inside his chest, it's Mako. ]
I don't do magic, it's not- that happens to other people, not me. [And while he's not as dismissive of it as he once was, he's not thrilled with having it in him, and it shows in his tone.] And I don't- I don't know how to control it.
[Which is the real crux of the problem he looks down at his hands, opening and closing his fingers.]
I'm scared I'm gonna hurt someone with this, because fire's a lot and it can cause so much damage. I mean, Fern's made of grass, it'd kill him in no time at all. [Panic is really starting to slip into his tone- he lets his enormous protective walls down far more around Mako than he does most people in town, the air is heating up around him as he starts to babble. ] And I can't be the cause of him dying again. Or anyone else.
[ Listening to Varian talk about this is like listening to a younger version of himself. Mako presses his hand a little more firmly onto Varian's back, leading him up the beach to some twisted, bleached log sticking out of the sand like bones. The sand is hot under their feet, baked by the high sun.
For once, the words come easily. For once Mako knows exactly how to handle this rush of emotion and fear bubbling up from the depths of his friend, because he knows that fear as intimately as he knows his own bending. ]
You're not wrong about that. Firebending is the most dangerous kind of bending. It's the easiest to lose control of, and the easiest to misuse. Firebenders are... inherently dangerous. Especially amateur ones.
[ There is a weight in his tone, a flat calm smoothing over a deep-held belief. If you talk like it doesn't hurt, people won't think it does.
Varian, he is sure, knows what happened to Mako's parents, how quickly their lives were extinguished in a burst of sharp flame. Mako knows very well how much danger lives in his palms, in his limbs: how easily he could kill someone. How many firebenders do, how many of them thought they were better for so long. The wounds of a nation don't heal that easily, especially given the land Republic City is built on. ]
If you can firebend now, then you're going to need to learn how to control it. That's just a given.
[Varian trusts Mako to nudge him along to somewhere safe to talk, just as he trusts Mako with this information at all. To let him in and allow his help because he desperately needs it. Even Mako's words are some odd comfort. He doesn't want to be told that things will be okay, or that he's overreacting. Varian's a realist, coddling is the last thing he needs- he needs the cold hard facts and how he can work with those.
He remembers Mako telling him how his parents died. The horrible irony of them being killed by a power their own child possessed. How badly that must have made Mako fear his own abilities- they provided him with an understanding Varian desperately needs right now. ]
I know. [He rubs his hands together, fingers tight and shaking- he's trying to keep himself from losing it. It's been such a long, freaky day and he just wants it to stop.] I know, but I- I don't know how.
[It's admitting weakness, he knows- but better this than fighting this alone and getting someone hurt. It's not even that he feels too proud to ask for help- it's just that even now he feels he probably doesn't deserve it. He turns to look at Mako, wide-eyed and very worried. ]
[ With a soft snort, Mako drops down to the flattest part of the log he can find, tugging Varian with him. ]
Well, lucky for you you're talking to the best firebender in Republic City. Korra's words, not mine. Pretty sure Lord Zuko could still kick my ass if he really wanted to.
[ Big brother tone, activate! He can tell just how worried about this Varian is, and—well, of course he is. Mako was terrified of his own hands for years afterward, used his bending to protect himself and Bolin and dreamt of flames spreading uncontrolled from his hands, consuming everything he loved. He'd always made things worse, not better, in those dreams. Necessity had pushed him past his own fear eventually, but it lurks, still, in the factual way he talks about how dangerous it is. He says it like a fact, because to him, it is.
(But it isn't true. Not really. All forms of bending are dangerous. Non-benders are dangerous. The world is a dangerous place.)
Varian sounds terrified, and looks worse, and Mako understands with a deep ache. ]
Listen to me. You can hate that this happened to you all you want. I know how you feel about magic. I still don't know what I think about the fact that there's probably another me in Republic City somewhere living my life. Somewhere out there, in Corona, is a you without any magic the way you think you should be. But you can firebend now, and you're going to learn to control it because you don't want to hurt people. You can learn. You're a smart kid.
[Down he goes, and he does manage a sad, weak little hah.]
Lucky me. And I don't know, Korra seems to know what she's talking about. I'd take her ringing endorsement.
[He appreciates that tone a lot. He clings to it desperately, like it's the only thing keeping him afloat in a sea of awful panic. He doesn't want any of this. He'd very much rather this magic be taken out of him and put...anywhere else. He's not magic. It's not what he's about.
But Mako's words to reach him, cutting through the panic- because he's right. This... this is the life he chose and there's another him carrying on the magic-free life he was leading. But he isn't. Not this version of him. And as much as he hates it (and oh boy, does he hate it, he knows Mako's right.]
I get it. [His tone is quiet, frightened, but at least not unsure.] I do, really. I just- [he rubs his hands on his arms, unsettled] it feels wrong and like I'm not in my right skin. But I do get it. And I- I need to learn, I don't want to hurt anyone. This is too dangerous to just let go unchecked.
[ Even if they don't know anything else—what's coming for them, what the people here are like, why they can suddenly do these things—Mako knows that much. Varian is smart and picks things up quickly: he can learn to bend. Maybe it'll be good for him to be a little more connected to his body. ]
But... I get it. The ice thing isn't exactly normal for my world. I shouldn't be able to do that. It's wrong. And I'm—you know. Dealing with it, but I...
[ Spirits, why is it always so hard to do this? How does Wu make it so easy? He spills his feelings like grain, letting them fall and sprout and make space. Mako needs to learn how to do that. He has to suck in a bracing breath, curl his scarred fingers over an exposed nub of driftwood. It smells like salt and sun-bleached wood. ]
[He sucks in a deep, shuddery breath, nodding- trying to centre himself. Mako's right. He can learn. Everything about this is making him want to crawl out of his own skin, but it's too dangerous to go unchecked. He needs to figure out how to control it because god forbid he actually hurts or kills someone with this.
He turns his head to focus on Mako- yes, having a certain powerset your entire life and suddenly getting the complete opposite of that has to be...unsettling. ]
Yeah. Wrong is a good way to put it. Like... like something isn't right about your whole body? I... I guess it's a good thing you still have your firebending at least? Something familiar to work with? But it doesn't take away the fact you're dealing with something completely new, too.
[ Their own confusion notwithstanding, of course. Mako looks back out over the white-tipped waves, frowning. ]
I don't like it, either. Gonna need to ask Korra how to control it or I'm going to be freezing things left and right, and we have enough to deal with. There's only so much you can say "this shouldn't be possible" and "this can't be happening" before you have to accept that it is, you know? That's all we can do. Admit that it sucks, and... work with it.
[He scrubs a hand roughly over his face, Mako is completely and utterly correct and there's no way he can say otherwise. He hates this, so deeply, but complaining about it isn't going to make it go away. Maybe actual work and research might- that's an avenue he can look into, but right now, he needs to know how to stop himself from setting people he loves on actual fire. ]
Yeah, you're right. I don't- I don't want to hurt anyone with it. As much as I hate it, I need to control it. [He hugs his arms around himself- uncomfortable, unsure. Mako's clearly willing to help him but a part of him still feels undeserving of it. That he has to be doubly sure. ] You'll... will you show me a thing or two?
[ With an actual amused snort, Mako elbows Varian in the side, gentle but pointed. ]
I'll show you as much as you need to know. You'll be fine.
[ He looks down at Varian, then, at the tightness of his arms around his sides, so familiar. Mako does the exact same thing, curls around himself to ward off everything pounding in like freezing rain.
This poor kid. ]
You want to start with something easy, right now? It's, uh. Something my mother taught me. Pretty simple, but effective.
[Varian ducks his head, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. ]
Thanks. I know. It's just- I'm not used to having to ask for help.
[For people willing to give it. He doesn't like letting himself be that weak, just in case he gets the rug pulled out from under him. But he knows Mako understand why that is.
Still, here is Mako, understanding all of that and is still willing to teach him, he smiles nervously, nodding. ]
Yeah. That... that's probably a good idea. Starting small and easy.
[ Sometimes Varian says things and it is like talking to a younger version of himself. It hits Mako hard enough to make him sigh, just a little, something oddly like guilt curling in his belly. ]
...yeah. I get it. Asking for help is one of the hardest things to do.
[ He snorts, almost bitter, and kicks at the sand under his feet, sending it away in a glittering arc. ]
I hate it. But there aren't any strings attached here, alright? Nothing except that I don't want to see you burning things down.
[ But that's what Mako is here for, and that's what he's trying to do: unconditional help, help because he wants to offer it. He doesn't think Varian is weak for needing it.
Maybe he needs to remember that.
Twisting, he searches for a moment, then pulls up a loose bit of the log they're sitting on, roughly as long as his arm. ]
No idea if it works like bending. Bending's all about using your chi to do things. This might be different.
[ Holding the stick up to his face, Mako sucks in a breath and blows out a little jet of flame, just enough to light the tip. It catches, burns clean. ]
I want you to focus on this. Just on the flame. See if you can feel it at all.
[It makes him feel uncomfortable, like letting down his walls a little too much for his comfort. But Mako is different. Mako is safe. He knows he can trust Mako, resolutely. ]
And thanks, I know you wouldn't- uh, attach strings. But thanks.
[For confirming that. For making it clear Varian's very hard-won trust isn't misplaced. He watches as Majo grabs the stick, listening to him as he speaks, trying his best to understand what he's saying. This is nothing he ever thought he'd have to deal with. It's not hard and solid science, he can't figure this out with an equation or by lab testing. He has to actually learn how to harness his own power.
He's never really noticed how much control Mako has over his power until now, when he's realised just how uncontrollable fire generated by a person is. It's really impressive. He glances at Mako, then down at the flame. Right. Concentrate. He tries to focus on the fire, tries to ignore the voice in the back of his head that's still screaming at how wrong this is. ]
I...I don't know. It doesn't feel hot? But apparently, I'm freezing and I can't feel that either. [His brow furrows, almost comical as he squints at it.] Um- what- what sort of feeling should I be...looking for?
[ The problem is really that Mako has never had a proper bending teacher outside his own mother. Zolt taught him lightning, but Zolt taught through fear, yelled at Mako until he got it right. There was nothing gentle about his training there, and his training with his mother was cut short entirely too soon.
He is, maybe, a little out of his depth. All he has to draw on is his own experience, and Mako has a hard time putting that into words.
What is he doing to control the flame? He has to think about it for a moment, stopping it from burning down too far on the stick, and then sits up straighter. ]
I'm using my chi to control it. You used to be a nonbender, so you're probably not used to being able to even feel your energy like that. It should feel like an extension of you, or like it's flowing inside you.
[Mako might feel out of his depth, but as far as Varian is concerned he's the most qualified person in the entire damn town to help him right now- hanging on his every word.
No pressure. ]
Right. So... so like an extra limb or something?
[He's trying his best- he's trying to think how Rapunzel connected to her hair and the power it held, or Cass to the rocks. But this can't be controlled by some ancient incantation- nor is he the one watching this from the sidelines. He needs to make this connection himself.
He tries to focus on the fire, trying to get over the substantial roadblock in his head that wants to dissect this as a science thing- to force logical sense where it doesn't really belong. He watches the flame flickering, how it dances and moves, after a while of intense staring he starts to realise he can predict the movements. ]
...This feels weird. [Sorry, Mako, he's not going to be an easy study. ] But yeah...I- I think I get what you mean?
[ Mako has to think for a while. He has to put this in terms Varian gets, rather than using his own words, inadequate as they are. If Varian's starting to get it, thinking about limbs—
Ah. ]
It's going to feel weird. You've never done this before, but it's kind of like your leg. When you walk with that, you're not actually feeling what it feels, but you can still control it.
[ Lifting his other hand, Mako drags it flat through the air, and the fire goes out, then points two fingers to light it again with a quick motion. ]
I noticed that not everyone's power works like mine. Some people can make fire without even moving, but bending's all about the body. It's energy you already have in you. What makes you a bender is the fact that you can use that energy to manipulate or create an element. That make sense?
[Mako's onto a winner with that sort of thinking. He can put that into a logic he can work with. Like his leg, okay.
He's nothing if not a good student. He does listen to everything Mako has to say to him, filing it away in that big brain of his. He watches Mako's movements with the flame, snuffing it out and bringing it back like it was nothing. Varian's experience so far has been panicked mistakes. He never meant for any of his fire to happen, it just did- wild and uncontrolled, and that's exactly the problem he doesn't want to have to deal with. ]
Yeah, that makes sense. So instead of expending energy to walk or climb or talk or...well, anything, you're expending it on creating and controlling elemental forces?
[He's genuinely not trying to be a smart ass about it, and that's evident in his tone. He's just making sense of what Mako says to him in the only way he knows how. If he can science enough at this maybe it'll stop making him want to crawl out of his own skin.]
Mako smiles and holds the branch up again. It's blackening at the end, but he's keeping the fire where it is with small motions of his hand. ]
Yeah, something like that. Firebenders are the only benders who can actually create their element. Found out pretty fast that isn't true for people from other worlds. What you're looking to feel is the energy of this fire. That's what you can control. It's not just a thing. You're connected to it.
[Mako's a better teacher than he gives himself credit for. ]
Huh, so waterbenders can't just create water from nothing? I think I remember talking to your brother about this, actually. How he was looking into different minerals to see if he could bend them, depending on their sediment ratio.
[He sciences at bending before now- but it wasn't part of his skillset then. He nods, still squinting at it.]
Right, right. It's not to be treated as something separate to you. I...I think I can understand that.
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reddosmod) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
countryclub2021-08-09 05:25 pm
no subject
You saw that? It was pretty rough. Wu had to get snuck out of Ba Sing Se in the chaos.
[ He and Bolin were there for that, too, embedded in the chaos in the palace. He hadn't spared a thought for any other members of the royal family then, too worried about Korra's awful message for Zaheer, about getting their family out, and sure at the same time that none of them were worth saving.
He regrets that, now, but that isn't the point here.
The point is that Varian's whole body is tight with a familiar tension, and Mako understands it on such a deep level.
With a small sigh, he moves a little farther away from the ice, pressing a hand carefully between Varian's shoulderblades to lead him down toward the shore. ]
Thought we all gave up on what should be happening a long time ago. Why is this really freaking you out?
no subject
[It leaves an unsettled feeling in his stomach- to see how distressed Wu had been, to feel it. After all, Varian's been on the other side of this. He took the queen hostage, tried to kill her. He caused that pain and fear Wu felt in her family. It's not helping his current edginess about the whole powers situation.
The hand on his back is grounding, and he lets out a slow breath. It's fine. He's with Mako and Mako is safe and good and has heard about the absolute darkest parts of Varian's life and did not leave. If there's anyone in this entire town he can trust with all the growing panic he's got inside his chest, it's Mako. ]
I don't do magic, it's not- that happens to other people, not me. [And while he's not as dismissive of it as he once was, he's not thrilled with having it in him, and it shows in his tone.] And I don't- I don't know how to control it.
[Which is the real crux of the problem he looks down at his hands, opening and closing his fingers.]
I'm scared I'm gonna hurt someone with this, because fire's a lot and it can cause so much damage. I mean, Fern's made of grass, it'd kill him in no time at all. [Panic is really starting to slip into his tone- he lets his enormous protective walls down far more around Mako than he does most people in town, the air is heating up around him as he starts to babble. ] And I can't be the cause of him dying again. Or anyone else.
no subject
For once, the words come easily. For once Mako knows exactly how to handle this rush of emotion and fear bubbling up from the depths of his friend, because he knows that fear as intimately as he knows his own bending. ]
You're not wrong about that. Firebending is the most dangerous kind of bending. It's the easiest to lose control of, and the easiest to misuse. Firebenders are... inherently dangerous. Especially amateur ones.
[ There is a weight in his tone, a flat calm smoothing over a deep-held belief. If you talk like it doesn't hurt, people won't think it does.
Varian, he is sure, knows what happened to Mako's parents, how quickly their lives were extinguished in a burst of sharp flame. Mako knows very well how much danger lives in his palms, in his limbs: how easily he could kill someone. How many firebenders do, how many of them thought they were better for so long. The wounds of a nation don't heal that easily, especially given the land Republic City is built on. ]
If you can firebend now, then you're going to need to learn how to control it. That's just a given.
no subject
He remembers Mako telling him how his parents died. The horrible irony of them being killed by a power their own child possessed. How badly that must have made Mako fear his own abilities- they provided him with an understanding Varian desperately needs right now. ]
I know. [He rubs his hands together, fingers tight and shaking- he's trying to keep himself from losing it. It's been such a long, freaky day and he just wants it to stop.] I know, but I- I don't know how.
[It's admitting weakness, he knows- but better this than fighting this alone and getting someone hurt. It's not even that he feels too proud to ask for help- it's just that even now he feels he probably doesn't deserve it. He turns to look at Mako, wide-eyed and very worried. ]
I need help.
no subject
Well, lucky for you you're talking to the best firebender in Republic City. Korra's words, not mine. Pretty sure Lord Zuko could still kick my ass if he really wanted to.
[ Big brother tone, activate! He can tell just how worried about this Varian is, and—well, of course he is. Mako was terrified of his own hands for years afterward, used his bending to protect himself and Bolin and dreamt of flames spreading uncontrolled from his hands, consuming everything he loved. He'd always made things worse, not better, in those dreams. Necessity had pushed him past his own fear eventually, but it lurks, still, in the factual way he talks about how dangerous it is. He says it like a fact, because to him, it is.
(But it isn't true. Not really. All forms of bending are dangerous. Non-benders are dangerous. The world is a dangerous place.)
Varian sounds terrified, and looks worse, and Mako understands with a deep ache. ]
Listen to me. You can hate that this happened to you all you want. I know how you feel about magic. I still don't know what I think about the fact that there's probably another me in Republic City somewhere living my life. Somewhere out there, in Corona, is a you without any magic the way you think you should be. But you can firebend now, and you're going to learn to control it because you don't want to hurt people. You can learn. You're a smart kid.
no subject
Lucky me. And I don't know, Korra seems to know what she's talking about. I'd take her ringing endorsement.
[He appreciates that tone a lot. He clings to it desperately, like it's the only thing keeping him afloat in a sea of awful panic. He doesn't want any of this. He'd very much rather this magic be taken out of him and put...anywhere else. He's not magic. It's not what he's about.
But Mako's words to reach him, cutting through the panic- because he's right. This... this is the life he chose and there's another him carrying on the magic-free life he was leading. But he isn't. Not this version of him. And as much as he hates it (and oh boy, does he hate it, he knows Mako's right.]
I get it. [His tone is quiet, frightened, but at least not unsure.] I do, really. I just- [he rubs his hands on his arms, unsettled] it feels wrong and like I'm not in my right skin. But I do get it. And I- I need to learn, I don't want to hurt anyone. This is too dangerous to just let go unchecked.
no subject
[ Even if they don't know anything else—what's coming for them, what the people here are like, why they can suddenly do these things—Mako knows that much. Varian is smart and picks things up quickly: he can learn to bend. Maybe it'll be good for him to be a little more connected to his body. ]
But... I get it. The ice thing isn't exactly normal for my world. I shouldn't be able to do that. It's wrong. And I'm—you know. Dealing with it, but I...
[ Spirits, why is it always so hard to do this? How does Wu make it so easy? He spills his feelings like grain, letting them fall and sprout and make space. Mako needs to learn how to do that. He has to suck in a bracing breath, curl his scarred fingers over an exposed nub of driftwood. It smells like salt and sun-bleached wood. ]
It feels weird. Wrong.
no subject
He turns his head to focus on Mako- yes, having a certain powerset your entire life and suddenly getting the complete opposite of that has to be...unsettling. ]
Yeah. Wrong is a good way to put it. Like... like something isn't right about your whole body? I... I guess it's a good thing you still have your firebending at least? Something familiar to work with? But it doesn't take away the fact you're dealing with something completely new, too.
no subject
[ Their own confusion notwithstanding, of course. Mako looks back out over the white-tipped waves, frowning. ]
I don't like it, either. Gonna need to ask Korra how to control it or I'm going to be freezing things left and right, and we have enough to deal with. There's only so much you can say "this shouldn't be possible" and "this can't be happening" before you have to accept that it is, you know? That's all we can do. Admit that it sucks, and... work with it.
no subject
Yeah, you're right. I don't- I don't want to hurt anyone with it. As much as I hate it, I need to control it. [He hugs his arms around himself- uncomfortable, unsure. Mako's clearly willing to help him but a part of him still feels undeserving of it. That he has to be doubly sure. ] You'll... will you show me a thing or two?
no subject
I'll show you as much as you need to know. You'll be fine.
[ He looks down at Varian, then, at the tightness of his arms around his sides, so familiar. Mako does the exact same thing, curls around himself to ward off everything pounding in like freezing rain.
This poor kid. ]
You want to start with something easy, right now? It's, uh. Something my mother taught me. Pretty simple, but effective.
no subject
Thanks. I know. It's just- I'm not used to having to ask for help.
[For people willing to give it. He doesn't like letting himself be that weak, just in case he gets the rug pulled out from under him. But he knows Mako understand why that is.
Still, here is Mako, understanding all of that and is still willing to teach him, he smiles nervously, nodding. ]
Yeah. That... that's probably a good idea. Starting small and easy.
no subject
...yeah. I get it. Asking for help is one of the hardest things to do.
[ He snorts, almost bitter, and kicks at the sand under his feet, sending it away in a glittering arc. ]
I hate it. But there aren't any strings attached here, alright? Nothing except that I don't want to see you burning things down.
[ But that's what Mako is here for, and that's what he's trying to do: unconditional help, help because he wants to offer it. He doesn't think Varian is weak for needing it.
Maybe he needs to remember that.
Twisting, he searches for a moment, then pulls up a loose bit of the log they're sitting on, roughly as long as his arm. ]
No idea if it works like bending. Bending's all about using your chi to do things. This might be different.
[ Holding the stick up to his face, Mako sucks in a breath and blows out a little jet of flame, just enough to light the tip. It catches, burns clean. ]
I want you to focus on this. Just on the flame. See if you can feel it at all.
no subject
[It makes him feel uncomfortable, like letting down his walls a little too much for his comfort. But Mako is different. Mako is safe. He knows he can trust Mako, resolutely. ]
And thanks, I know you wouldn't- uh, attach strings. But thanks.
[For confirming that. For making it clear Varian's very hard-won trust isn't misplaced. He watches as Majo grabs the stick, listening to him as he speaks, trying his best to understand what he's saying. This is nothing he ever thought he'd have to deal with. It's not hard and solid science, he can't figure this out with an equation or by lab testing. He has to actually learn how to harness his own power.
He's never really noticed how much control Mako has over his power until now, when he's realised just how uncontrollable fire generated by a person is. It's really impressive. He glances at Mako, then down at the flame. Right. Concentrate. He tries to focus on the fire, tries to ignore the voice in the back of his head that's still screaming at how wrong this is. ]
I...I don't know. It doesn't feel hot? But apparently, I'm freezing and I can't feel that either. [His brow furrows, almost comical as he squints at it.] Um- what- what sort of feeling should I be...looking for?
no subject
He is, maybe, a little out of his depth. All he has to draw on is his own experience, and Mako has a hard time putting that into words.
What is he doing to control the flame? He has to think about it for a moment, stopping it from burning down too far on the stick, and then sits up straighter. ]
I'm using my chi to control it. You used to be a nonbender, so you're probably not used to being able to even feel your energy like that. It should feel like an extension of you, or like it's flowing inside you.
no subject
No pressure. ]
Right. So... so like an extra limb or something?
[He's trying his best- he's trying to think how Rapunzel connected to her hair and the power it held, or Cass to the rocks. But this can't be controlled by some ancient incantation- nor is he the one watching this from the sidelines. He needs to make this connection himself.
He tries to focus on the fire, trying to get over the substantial roadblock in his head that wants to dissect this as a science thing- to force logical sense where it doesn't really belong. He watches the flame flickering, how it dances and moves, after a while of intense staring he starts to realise he can predict the movements. ]
...This feels weird. [Sorry, Mako, he's not going to be an easy study. ] But yeah...I- I think I get what you mean?
no subject
Ah. ]
It's going to feel weird. You've never done this before, but it's kind of like your leg. When you walk with that, you're not actually feeling what it feels, but you can still control it.
[ Lifting his other hand, Mako drags it flat through the air, and the fire goes out, then points two fingers to light it again with a quick motion. ]
I noticed that not everyone's power works like mine. Some people can make fire without even moving, but bending's all about the body. It's energy you already have in you. What makes you a bender is the fact that you can use that energy to manipulate or create an element. That make sense?
no subject
He's nothing if not a good student. He does listen to everything Mako has to say to him, filing it away in that big brain of his. He watches Mako's movements with the flame, snuffing it out and bringing it back like it was nothing. Varian's experience so far has been panicked mistakes. He never meant for any of his fire to happen, it just did- wild and uncontrolled, and that's exactly the problem he doesn't want to have to deal with. ]
Yeah, that makes sense. So instead of expending energy to walk or climb or talk or...well, anything, you're expending it on creating and controlling elemental forces?
[He's genuinely not trying to be a smart ass about it, and that's evident in his tone. He's just making sense of what Mako says to him in the only way he knows how. If he can science enough at this maybe it'll stop making him want to crawl out of his own skin.]
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Huh.
Mako smiles and holds the branch up again. It's blackening at the end, but he's keeping the fire where it is with small motions of his hand. ]
Yeah, something like that. Firebenders are the only benders who can actually create their element. Found out pretty fast that isn't true for people from other worlds. What you're looking to feel is the energy of this fire. That's what you can control. It's not just a thing. You're connected to it.
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Huh, so waterbenders can't just create water from nothing? I think I remember talking to your brother about this, actually. How he was looking into different minerals to see if he could bend them, depending on their sediment ratio.
[He sciences at bending before now- but it wasn't part of his skillset then. He nods, still squinting at it.]
Right, right. It's not to be treated as something separate to you. I...I think I can understand that.